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A BOOK OF FAIRY-TALE FOXES 








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THE ROBBER FOX AND HIS MOTHER 










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BEDTIME 

FAIRY-TALE SERIES 

EDITED BY 

Clifton Johnson 

A 

Book of Fairy-Tale Bears 

A 

Book of Fairy-Tale Foxes 



A BOOK OF 
FAIRY-TALE 

FOXES 

'SELECTIONS FROM FAVORITE 
FOLK-LORE STORIES 

EDITED BY 

CLIFTON JOHNSON 

ILLUSTRATED BY 

FRANK A. MANKIVELL 



BOSTON AND NEW YORK 
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 
(iCte <rambrtti0e 

1914 




COPYRIGHT, 1914, BY CLIFTON JOHNSON 
4 LL RIGHTS RESERVED 

Published October 1Q14 




CiLl ( 


/ *' 

OCT -5 1914 

©GUaSOTSl 



CONTENTS 


The Robber Fox and the Little Red Hen 

America 1 

Reynard’s Ride Norway 7 

The Fox and the Wolf’s Daughter 

American Negro 13 

The Sleeping Fox and the Boy with a 


Stone Sweden 21 

The Fox who did not want to be a Hea- 
then Scotland 27 

The Limping Fox .... Servia 33 

How Mrs. Fox married again . Grimm 47 


The Fox and the Boastful Rooster 

Scotland 55 

Reynard and the Fox-Hunter . Ireland 61 
The Fox and the Old Cat and Dog 

Grimm 67 

The Two Foxes and the Hot Rolls 

Scotland 81 

A Fox AND HIS Friends . . . Russia 87 

The Hungry Fox and his Breakfast 

Greece 105 


vi Contents 

Reynard and the Little Birds . Russia 
The Fox and his Five Hungry Comrades 

Finland 

The Crafty Fox and the Industrious 

Goose Spain 

The Fox and the Wicked Wolf Asia 
The Fox who became a Shepherd Germany 
The Fox, the Wolf, and the Cheese 

Spain 

How THE Cat outwitted the Fox Russia 
The Fox, the Bear, and the Poor Farmer 

Hungary 

The Proud Fox and the Young Prairie 

Chicken American Negro 

How THE Fox AND THE CrAB RAN A RaCE 

China 

The Fox with a Sackful of Tricks 

Grimm 

Reynard and his Adventures . Lapland 


113 

119 

139 

147 

159 

167 

177 

187 

197 

203 

209 

215 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


The Robber Fox and his Mother (p. 6) 

Frontispiece ^ 


Mr. Wolf gets angry at Mr. Fox . . 18 

A Fox COMES TO COURT Mrs. Fox . . , 50 

The Peasant Girl thinks she has found a 
Dead Fox 84 ^ 

The Hen, the Dove, and the Mouse go for a 
Ride 110 

The Five Beasts drawing the Sledge to the 
Forest 124^^ 

The Old Woman throws the Milk at the 

Fox 164^ 

/ 

The Bear goes into the Farmer’s Sack . 194^' 


THE ROBBER FOX AND THE LITTLE 

RED HEN 










A BOOK OF FAIBY-TALE 
FOXES 

THE ROBBEK FOX AND THE 
LITTLE RED HEN 

O NCE upon a time there was a little 
red hen who lived in a house by her- 
self at the edge of a piece of woodland. 

On the other side of the wood dwelt a 
robber fox with his mother. One morning, 
right after breakfast, the robber fox said to 
his mother: “I am going to catch the little 
red hen to-day. So make a fire, and get the 
pot boiling. We ’ll cook her as soon as I come 
back and have her for dinner.” 

Then he slung a bag over his shoulder and 
started for the little red hen’s house. 

The little red hen never suspected any dan- 
ger, and she did her morning work as usual. 
After a while she looked at the clock to see 


4 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

what time it was. ‘‘Well,” she said, “now 
I must begin to get dinner, and the first thing 
I ’ll do is to step out into the yard for a few 
chips to make my fire burn more briskly.” 

Out she went, but while she was filHng her 
apron with the chips the robber fox came 
along and slipped into the house without her 
seeing him. He hid behind the door, and 
said, “I’ll catch her easily enough, now.” 

Pretty soon the little red hen came in, and 
she was just going to shut the door when she 
saw the fox. Then she was so frightened 
that she dropped all her chips and fiew up 
to a peg in the wall. 

“Ha, ha!” the robber fox laughed, “it 
won’t take me long to bring you down from 
there.” And he began running round and 
round after his tail. 

The little red hen kept turning about on 
the peg to watch him, and in a few minutes 
she got so dizzy that she fell off. 

Immediately the fox picked her up, put her 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 5 

in his bag, and started for home feeling very 
smart. By and by he grew tired and sat down 
to rest. The little red hen did not like travel- 
ing in a bag, and she did not want to be eaten. 
She began to wonder if she could contrive to 
escape, and she thought and thought until 
she happened to think that she had her scis- 
sors in her pocket. Without wasting any more 
time she took the scissors and snipped a hole 
in the bag and jumped out. 

The ground just there was strewn with 
stones, and the little red hen picked up sev- 
eral as large as she could lift and put them in 
the bag in her place. Then she ran home as 
fast as she could go. 

After a time the fox got up and went on. 
“How heavy this little hen is!” he said to 
himself. "‘She must be very plump and fat. 
Ah, won’t she make a good dinner ! ” And he 
smacked his lips at the thought of how nice 
she would taste. 

When he came in sight of his house he saw 


6 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

his mother standing in the doorway watch- 
ing for him, and he called out, “Hi, mother! 
have you got the pot boiling?” 

“Yes, yes,” his mother replied, “and have 
you got the little red hen?” 

“She’s here in this bag that I have on my 
shoulder,” was his answer, “and she’ll make 
a fine dinner.” 

He walked on into the house, and his 
mother led the way to the fireplace. “Now,” 
he said, “when I count three, you take the 
cover off the pot, and I’ll pop the little 
red hen right into the hot water.” 

“Very well,” his mother responded. 

“All ready,” the fox said; “one, two, 
three!” 

His mother took the cover off, and splash 
went the stones into the boiling water, and 
the pot tipped over and scalded the robber 
fox and his mother to death. 

But the little red hen lives yet in her house 
at the edge of the wood by herself. 


REYNARD’S RIDE 




REYNARD’S RIDE 


O NE day Bruin, the bear, killed a horse. 

Afterward he was eating him when 
Reynard, the fox, happened along. 

‘‘Ah!” Reynard said to himself, “here is 
Bruin feasting while I am wandering about 
hungry. That horse looks good to me. I 
must contrive to get a taste of him.” 

He walked on softly, passed behind Bruin, 
then turned and jumped to the other side of 
the horse. 

Bruin looked up and growled, but quick 
as a flash Reynard snapped a mouthful of the 
meat and ran off. 

“Don’t be in a hurry,” Bruin called after 
him. “ Come back and I ’ll tell you how you 
can get a horse all for your own eating.” 

Reynard wanted very much to know how 
to do that, and he returned, but he did not 
go very close to Bruin, for he did not wholly 


10 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

trust him. He stopped at a safe distance and 
said, ‘‘Now tell me.” 

“Well,” Bruin responded, “just search 
around until you find a horse out at pasture 
lying asleep in the sunshine. Then bind your- 
seK fast to him by tying the hair of bis tail 
to your brush. After that make your teeth 
meet in the fiesh of his thigh. He may prance 
around a little, but hang on, and when the 
horse is dead you can eat him at your lei- 
sure.” 

“Thank you,” the fox said. “I think that 
is a very good plan.” And away he went to 
the pastures where the farmers let their 
horses graze. He kept a sharp lookout until 
he found a horse asleep in the sunshine. 
Without delay he knotted the long hair of 
the horse’s tail firmly to his brush. Then he 
made his teeth meet in the horse’s thigh. 

The horse, gave a startled cry of pain, 
sprang to his feet, and began to kick and rear. 
Reynard at first kept his grip, but he lost it 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 11 

when the horse set off for a wild gallop about 
the pasture. He was dashed against the earth 
and the stones, and he got more battered and 
bruised every minute. In the midst of the 
frantic race the horse nearly ran over Jack 
Longears, the rabbit. Jack leaped out of the 
way just in time to save himself. 

“Whither away so fast, Reynard?” he 
called. 

“Never mind where,” Reynard cried. 
“ I ’m going post-haste on business of life and 
death.” 

Jack stood up on his hind legs, and laughed 
till his sides ached, it was so funny *to see 
Reynard ride post-haste. 

Luckily for Reynard, he at last broke loose, 
and he was limping away to his den in the 
forest when he met Bruin. He let the bear 
have all the road and turned well out to one 
side. If Bruin had not hailed him he would 
have gone along without speaking. 

“Hello! Reynard,” Bruin said, “what is 


12 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

the matter with you? You look as if you had 
crawled through a knothole backward.” 

“You can laugh,” Reynard retorted, “but 
I would have you know that I have been 
doing nothing except to ride post-haste.” 

Bruin would have talked more, but Rey- 
nard hobbled along into the forest without 
saying another word. He could not help 
acknowledging that Bruin had outwitted 
him, and since then he has had no desire to 
catch a horse for himself. 


THE FOX AND THE WOLF’S DAUGHTER 



THE FOX AND THE WOLF’S 
DAUGHTER 


T here was once a wolf who had a beau- 
tiful and clever daughter. She was 
the finest girl in the country, and all the 
men animals who did not already have part- 
ners came courting her. It made her proud 
to have so many to pick from, but she was a 
lively creature, and though she smiled on 
every one of them she turned up her nose if a 
beau wanted to stop courting and go to keep- 
ing house. 

‘^No,” she would say, ‘T am not ready 
yet to settle down like my mother.” 

By and by her old daddy got exasperated 
with all the foolishness. He had been kept 
awake night after night by the giggling and 
chaffing of the young people. They were sit- 
ting in his best armchairs and wearing them 
out when they ought to have been sleeping 


16 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

and getting strength to flax around and earn 
their living the next day. 

So one morning he said to his daughter: 
‘‘You must choose the man you like best and 
start a home of your own. I ’m not going to 
have you trotting around any more and 
fetching company here to eat our victuals 
and be waited on by your mother.’’ 

When he said that, the girl sniffed and 
pouted, but she knew she must do as he 
ordered, and after a while she told him he 
might get ready whatever he was going to 
give her for a wedding present. 

“Who are you going to marry?” he asked. 

She blushed and dropped her eyes. “I 
think young Mr. Fox is a mighty nice man,” 
she said. 

“Well,” the old wolf growled, “it’s true 
enough that he’s a sweet talker. He can’t be 
beat when it comes to courting the girls.” 

The wolf was not overmuch pleased, but 
he said no more, and he let it be known 


17 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

that Mr. Fox would soon marry his daugh- 
ter. The wedding was to be a grand affair, 
and all hands went to work to get ready 
for it. 

In the midst of the preparations young 
Mr. Fox called at Mr. Wolf’s house and be- 
gan to brag about his wedding clothes. “ I ’ve 
been to the tailor,” he said, “and I’ve told 
him to make as fine a suit as he knows how. 
The clothes are to have pretty shiny buttons 
on ’em. There ’ll be two rows down the front 
of the coat and some on the sleeves, and I 
told the tailor to put a button here — ” 

He started to reach around to the back of 
his coat, but at that moment a big fiea gave 
him a terrible bite on his knee. He could not 
help clapping his hand to the spot. Fleas 
are very bad in the wolf houses, but the 
wolves do not like to have any one say so. 
They get angry if a visitor shows that he has 
been bitten. Mr. Fox knew how touchy they 
were on that subject, and when he grabbed 


18 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

for the flea he pretended he was just showing 
where a button was going to be. 

Then he went on to say, ‘‘And I told the 
tailor to put a button here — ” 

Again he was about to point around to the 
back of his coat when the flea nipped him in 
the ribs, and he had to make a clutch there 
without delay. He cleared his throat and 
tried once more to show where the button 
was to be. “I’m going to have a button here 
— ” he said, but the flea pinched him on the 
neck. 

No sooner had he slapped that place and 
resumed his story than he got a bite on the 
hip. The bites continued, and he kept put- 
ting the buttons here and there till he was 
wild with confusion and discomfort, and he 
had scratched almost everywhere. 

Finally the flea gave him a most savage 
bite on the nose just as he was telling where 
a button was going, and he could not help 
clawing the spot. 



MR. WOLF GETS ANGRY AT MR. FOX 




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19 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

Meanwhile old Mr. Wolf had been getting 
madder and madder right straight along, and 
when Mr. Fox said he was going to have a 
button on the end of his nose he could hold 
in his wrath no longer. 

“Hi!” he exclaimed, “I can prove now 
that I made no mistake when I said you 
were an idiot while you were courting my 
daughter. I have n’t been at all anxious to 
welcome you into my family from the start. 
But I gave in to the girl and her mother. 
Now, though, I take my stand, and all the 
women-folks in the world can’t persuade me 
to have a son-in-law who wants to look as if 
toadstools were growing all over him. Put 
a button on your nose if you want to, but 
you are not going to carry it into a house you 
share with my daughter.” 

Then he flung open the door and drove 
Mr. Fox out, and he was so angry he would 
not listen to a word from Mr. Fox, or Mr. 
Fox’s kinsfolk, or the neighbors, or his wife. 


20 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

or the girl. The next week he got his daugh- 
ter married to the leanest old timber wolf 
that ever drew breath, and since that time 
he has not had a thing to do with any fox 
whatever. 


THE SLEEPING FOX AND THE BOY 
WITH A STONE 



THE SLEEPING FOX AND THE 
BOY WITH A STONE 


O NCE upon a time there was a little boy 
who lived with his father and mother 
on a farm in the midst of a forest. The near- 
est village was on the borders of the forest 
three miles away. It was there that the 
family went to market, and it was there that 
they went to church. 

One Sunday the little boy’s father was 
sick, and when it was time to start for church 
the little boy’s mother called him to her and 
said: “This time you can go to church alone. 
Your father is not well, and I must stay at 
home to take care of him. But you know the 
way as well as we do.” 

“Oh, yes!” the little boy said, “I know the 
way perfectly, and this is a nice sunny morn- 
ing. If you will brush my hair, I will put on 
my best hat and coat, and start. I heard the 


24 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

church bell ringing a little while ago when I 
drove our cow to pasture.” 

So his mother brushed his hair, and he 
put on his best coat and hat, and left home 
for the long walk through the forest to 
church. At one place on the road was a clear- 
ing where the choppers had been at work, 
and not far from the highway was a rock on 
which a fox lay sleeping. 

By and by the little boy came walking 
along, and when he was opposite the rock 
he saw the fox lying there in the sunshine 
fast asleep. He stopped and looked at the 
fox and thought a moment. Then he picked 
up a good-sized stone and prepared to throw 
it at the sleeping Reynard. 

‘‘I will kill that fox,” he said. “Afterward 
I can have his skin, and I will sell it. I shall 
get money for the skin — yes, a great deal of 
money — and with the money I intend to 
buy some rye. I shall sow the rye in one of 
my father’s fields. When it has begun to 


25 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

grow and has made the field all green, people 
who are on their way to church will stop to 
look at it, and they will say, ‘Oh, what 
splendid rye that boy has got!’ 

“ Then I shall shout to them, ‘ Hello, there ! 
keep away from my rye ! ’ 

“But they won’t hear me, and I shall 
shout again louder, ‘ Hello, there ! keep away 
from my rye ! ’ 

“But still they won’t pay any attention 
to me. So I shall scream with all my might, 
‘Keep away from my rye!’ 

“Then they will listen to me.” 

However the boy had screamed so loud 
that the fox waked up and sprang to his feet. 
Reynard only paused to give one startled 
look toward the boy, and scampered off into 
the forest. He vanished so quickly that the 
boy never even threw the stone at him. 

There is an old saying: — 

“It ’s always best to take what you can reach. 

And not of undone deeds to loudly screech.” 


26 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

If the little boy had known this old saying 
and remembered it, I might have had a very 
different story to tell. 


THE FOX WHO DID NOT WANT TO BE 

A HEATHEN 







THE FOX WHO DID NOT WANT 
TO BE A HEATHEN 


O NCE there was a goose who lived beside 
a lake. Sometimes she paddled about 
on the water. Sometimes she dived down 
under the surface. Sometimes she waddled 
along the marshy borders of the lake hunt- 
ing for frogs. 

She found plenty to eat, and she grew fat- 
ter every day. But the fatter she became, 
the less inclined she was to exert herself. So 
she spent much of her time on a sunny slope 
near the lake, asleep, with her head under her 
wing. 

In the wood, not far away, dwelt a cun- 
ning red fox. One day, as he was prowling 
about, he saw the goose asleep on that sunny 
bank which she found so comfortable. 

‘‘ Ha ! ” he said, “what a fat goose ! Here ’s 
a chance for a good supper.” 


30 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

He crept closer, made a sudden leap, and 
the goose awakened to find herself held fast 
by one of her wings. She struggled to get 
free, and she honked and hissed loudly, but 
the fox only laughed at her. 

‘‘It’s of no use making such a fuss,” he 
told her. “You can’t scare me by your 
honking and hissing, and you can’t get 
away. I’m going to eat you right here.” 

“Well, if you are going to do that,” the 
goose said, “I hope you will do it decently 
and not forget your manners.” 

“Forget my manners? ” Reynard said. “I 
don’t understand what you mean. Please 
explain. Now if you had me in your mouth 
as I have you, tell me what you would do.” 

“You are a heathen, Reynard,” the goose 
declared. “Good Christians ask a blessing 
on their food before they eat. If I had 
caught you as you have caught me, I cer- 
tainly would not eat you until I had folded 
my hands, shut my eyes and said a grace. I 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 31 

would be ashamed to gobble you down with- 
out doing that. Thank goodness ! I Ve been 
better brought up than to do such a thing.” 

‘‘God forbid that I should be a heathen!” 
the fox exclaimed. “You have the right idea 
of what is proper. To be sure, I am eager to 
eat you, for I see plainly that you are both 
plump and tender, but I quite agree with you 
that one ought not to neglect his manners.” 

So he folded his hands, shut his eyes, and 
with a very demure look on his countenance 
repeated a pious grace. But while he ex- 
pressed his thankfulness for the ample size 
and toothsome fatness of his captive, and 
asked a blessing on the bountiful repast of 
which he was about to partake, the goose 
waddled softly away. However, she had 
only gone a short distance when he finished 
his grace and opened his eyes. No time was 
to be lost, and the goose spread her wings for 
a flight. 

“Good-bye!” she called back to the fox 


32 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

as she left the ground. “ I like your manners. 
I hope your supper will agree with you.” 

She flew far out over the lake and let her- 
self splash down on the water. Then she 
floated and rested after the exertion of flying 
and the excitement of her narrow escape. 

The fox was left to lick his lips in vain 
regret. ‘‘Ah!” he said in disgust, “I will 
learn a lesson from this. Never again in all 
my life will I say a grace till after I feel the 
meat warm in my stomach.” 


THE LIMPING FOX 


f 



THE LIMPING FOX 


O NCE upon a time there was a man 
whose right eye always smiled, and 
whose left eye always cried. This man had 
three sons, two of them very clever and the 
third very stupid. When these sons grew 
up, they were curious to know why their 
father’s eyes were so unlike the eyes of other 
people. They could not puzzle out any rea- 
son for it, and one day, when, they were to- 
gether in the garden talking the matter over, 
the eldest son said: “Why should we allow 
this uncertainty to continue to trouble us? 
I will ask our father to explain the mys- 
tery.” 

So he marched into the house and said to 
his father, “I would very much like to know 
why one of yom* eyes always smiles and the 
other always weeps.” 

But his father, instead of answering, be- 


36 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

came very angry and ordered the son out of 
the house. The young fellow ran to the gar- 
den and joined his brothers. 

“What did he say.^^” they asked anx- 
iously. 

“You had better go yourselves, if you 
want to find out,” was all the reply he gave 
them. 

Then the second son entered the house and 
asked his father the same question the eldest 
son had asked. Again the father became an- 
gry, and he commanded the questioner to 
leave the house. The youth returned to his 
brothers and said to the youngest, “It is 
your turn now to try your luck.” 

The simpleton did not hesitate. He 
marched boldly in to his father and said: 
“ My brothers will not tell me what answer 
you gave them when they asked you about 
your eyes. Will you please tell me why they 
are not like those of other people?” 

As before, the father was furious and or- 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 37 

dered the son out of the house. But the 
simpleton would not go. He was sure he had 
nothing to fear from his father. 

Soon the old man ceased threatening and 
said: ‘‘I see that you have courage, and I 
will satisfy your curiosity. My right eye 
laughs because I am glad to have a son like 
you, and my left eye weeps because a 
precious treasure has been stolen from me. 
I formerly had in my garden a vine that 
yielded a ton of grapes every day, but some 
one carried it off, and I have wept over its 
loss ever since.’’ 

The simpleton went out to his brothers and 
repeated what his father had said. Then they 
all decided to start without delay in search 
of the wonderful vine. At first they traveled 
together, but by and by they came to where 
the road parted, and the two elder brothers 
took one way, and the simpleton the other. 

‘‘Thank goodness he decided to go on by 
himself ! ” the eldest brother said. ‘‘ He never 


38 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

would have been of any help in finding the 
magic vine/’ 

“That he would not,” the second brother 
agreed, “and now let us eat some of the food 
we have brought along.” 

They sat down by the roadside and were 
eating when a lame fox came out of a piece 
of woodland that was near by and begged 
them to give him a portion of their food. 
But they jumped up and chased him away 
with their canes. The fox limped off on three 
feet, and he hurried on till he came to where 
the simpleton had sat down to eat beside 
the other road. 

“Sir,” the fox said, “can you spare me a 
crust of bread?” 

“I have only a very little bread,” the 
simpleton replied, “but you shall have half 
of it.” 

“Where are you going, brother?” the fox 
asked when he had finished his share of the 
food. 


39 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

So the youth told about his father; and 
of the wonderful vine, which he himseh was 
now seeking. 

‘‘ Dear me, how lucky that you and I met ! ’’ 
the fox said. “I know what has become of 
that vine. Follow me.’’ 

So they went on till they drew near to a 
large garden. ‘‘The vine for which you are 
searching is in this garden,” the fox said, 
“ but it is very stoutly guarded. You must 
listen carefully to what I say and heed my 
directions. You will have to pass through 
twelve gates before you reach the vine, and 
at each gate are posted two armed sentinels. 
But you will find the gates open and the sen- 
tinels asleep. Go on without fear, and when 
you get to the vine you will see two shovels 
near it, one of wood and the other of iron. 
Be sure to use the wooden shovel to dig up 
the vine, for the iron shovel would make a 
noise and rouse the sentinels. Then they 
would slam the gates shut and capture you.” 


40 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

“I will do as you say,” the young man 
promised. 

He passed safely through the twelve gates 
and found the vine and the shovels, but he 
thought it would be impossible to dig the 
hard earth with the wooden shovel, and he 
picked up the iron one. Scarcely had he 
started digging when he struck some stones, 
and the noise wakened the guards. Instantly 
they banged the gates shut and came running 
to the vine. Then they seized the simpleton 
and dragged him off to their master. 

"‘Why did you try to steal my vine that 
yields a ton of grapes a day?” the owner of 
the garden demanded. 

“The vine is not yours,” the simpleton as- 
serted stoutly. “It belongs to my father, 
and if you will not give it to me now, I warn 
you that I shall contrive to get it somehow, 
sooner or later.” 

“Well,” the man said, “you shall have the 
vine, if you will bring me in exchange an 


41 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

apple off the apple tree that blossoms every 
twenty-four hours and bears fruit of gold.’’ 

Then he gave orders that the simpleton 
should be released. The guards conducted 
the youth outside of the groimds, and as 
soon as they set him free, he hurried off to 
consult the fox. 

“Now you see what comes of not follow- 
ing my advice,” the fox said. “I am much 
displeased. However, I will help you. Come, 
we will go to the garden where the wonder- 
ful tree is growing. The owner has guarded 
the tree just as the vine was guarded, but 
there, too, the gates are open and the senti- 
nels sleeping. Near the tree you will find two 
poles, one of gold and the other of wood. 
Take the wooden pole, and you will be able 
to knock off an apple without making any 
noise.” 

They went to the garden, and near its 
outer gate the simpleton parted from the 
fox. Then he went on alone and soon ar- 


42 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

rived at the apple tree, but he was so dazzled 
by the sight of the beautiful golden fruit that 
he quite forgot all that the fox had said. He 
seized the golden pole and struck a branch 
a sounding blow. 

At once the guards awoke, slammed the 
gates shut, caught the simpleton, and took 
him to their master. He told his story, and 
the owner of the garden said, “You shall 
have a golden apple if you will bring me in 
exchange the golden horse that can go around 
the world in twenty-four hours.” 

The simpleton was allowed to depart, and 
he rejoined the fox. This time the fox was 
angry, and no wonder: “If you had only 
done as I directed,” he said, “you would be 
at home with your father by this time. You 
don’t deserve any more help. Nevertheless, 
I will tell you how to get the swift horse. He 
is in a stable in the neighboring forest closely 
guarded, but you will find the guards asleep. 
Near his stall hang two halters, one of gold, 


43 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

the other of hemp. Put the hempen halter 
on him, for if you attempt to use the golden 
halter to lead him away he will begin neigh- 
ing and will waken the guards.” 

The simpleton found the golden horse, 
and the two halters. “What a beautiful crea- 
ture ! ” the youth exclaimed. “ Surely the fox 
would not have me put a hempen halter on 
a creature like that. No, no!” 

So he used the golden halter, and the horse 
began to neigh loudly. That brought the 
guards, and the simpleton was conducted to 
their master and told his story. 

“You shall have the horse,” the owner 
said, “if you will bring me in exchange a 
golden maiden who has never yet seen either 
the sun or the moon.” 

“But if I am to bring you the golden 
maiden,” the simpleton responded, “you 
must lend me the golden steed to ride on in 
my search for her.” 

“Very well,” the man agreed, and the 


44 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 
youth rode away on the golden horse to con- 
sult the fox. 

He had again disobeyed the fox’s orders, 
yet the fox once more aided him. “Follow 
me,” the fox said, after the simpleton had 
told him of the new quest he was obliged to 
make. “The maiden dwells in a mountain 
grotto, and she has never been outside of it 
to see either the sun by day or the moon by 
night.” 

Presently they reached the grotto, and the 
young man rode in on the golden horse, and 
there he found a beautiful maiden all of 
gold. He placed her on the horse and led the 
steed out of the grotto to where the fox was 
waiting. 

“Are you not sorry to give such a lovely 
maiden in exchange for a horse?” the fox 
asked. “Perhaps I could manage to take her 
place.” 

So saying, the fox transformed himself 
into another golden maiden so like the first 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 45 

that it was diflScult to tell which was which. 
They left the maiden of the grotto where she 
was and went to the owner of the horse. He 
accepted the fox maiden, and the youth took 
the golden horse to the owner of the golden 
apples and received one of the apples in ex- 
change. Then he went and gave the apple 
for his father’s magic vine, and carried the 
vine home. Lastly he returned to the moun- 
tain grotto and got the beautiful golden 
maiden, and he took her to his father’s house 
and married her. 



HOW MRS. FOX MARRIED AGAIN 



HOW MRS. FOX MARRIED AGAIN 


T here was once a lady fox whose hus- 
band died, and after he was buried she 
retired to her room and locked herself in. 
There she stayed day after day and week 
after week for a long time. She had a cat 
for a servant, and this servant kept the house 
tidy and attended to the cooking. 

At length a suitor came knocking at the 
door. The cat went to see who was there 
and found a wolf standing on the doorstep. 
He bowed very politely and said: — 

“Good-day, Miss Cat, so brisk and gay, 

Pray, tell me why alone you stay 
And what it is you cook to-day? ” 

The cat answered: — 

“lam melting some butter and warming some beer. 
Won’t you kindly come in and partake of my cheer? ” 

The wolf bowed again and said: — 


50 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

“I thank you very much. Miss Cat, 

Most gladly will I do just that;* 

And while I eat, pray, go and see 
If Mrs. Fox will welcome me.” 

The cat said : — 

“She is sitting upstairs in her grief. 

And her eyes with her weeping are sore. 
From her sorrow she gets no relief 
Now that poor Mr. Fox is no more.” 

“Won't she take another spouse 
To protect her and her house?” 

the wolf asked. 

“I will go and find out 
So you'll know without doubt,” — 

the cat replied. 

Then she ran upstairs, pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat. 
And knocked at the door, rat-a-tat, rat-a-tat! 
“Mrs. Fox, my lady fair. 

Tell me, please, if you are there,” — 

she said. 

“Yes, I'm here, my pussy dear. 

Where I 've been for half a year,” — 

Mrs. Fox answered. 



A FOX COMES TO COURT MRS. 


FOX 












51 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

“There’s a suitor below. 

Shall I tell him to go?” — 

the cat said. 

Mrs. Fox opened the door and asked, 
“Does the gentleman wear red breeches, and 
has he a pointed nose?” 

“No,” the cat answered. 

“Then I won’t have him,” Mrs. Fox de- 
clared. “Send him away.” 

So the cat went downstairs and sent the 
wolf away. 

A few days later a dog came to woo the 
lady fox. The cat went to her mistress’s 
room to announce him, and Mrs. Fox asked, 
“Does he wear red breeches, and has he a 
pointed nose?” 

“No,” the cat said. 

“ Send him away, then,” Mrs. Fox ordered. 

Another day a bear came, but his breeches 
and his nose were not satisfactory, and he 
had no better luck than the others. 

Not long afterward a lion called, and he. 


52 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

too, was sent away, and for the same rea- 
son. 

At last a fox came to court Mrs. Fox, and 
when she learned from the cat that he wore 
red breeches and had a pointed nose she 
said, “Then I will have him, and you must 
make haste to prepare the wedding feast.” 

So the cat caught as many mice as she 
could in celebration of the happy event, and 
got ready a fine feast, and swept out the 
house. Presently the wedding took place 
with mirth, dancing, and rejoicing; and as I 
have never heard anything to the contrary, 
perhaps the bride and groom and their guests 
are dancing yet. 


THE FOX AND THE BOASTFUL ROOSTER 


✓ 


THE FOX AND THE BOASTFUL 
ROOSTER 


O NCE upon a time there was a rooster 
who was very proud of his strong legs 
and bright feathers and red comb. But most 
of all he was proud of his powerful voice. As 
he strutted around the barnyard he stopped 
every now and then to crow and to say to 
himself, ‘T am the handsomest rooster in all 
the world, and no other rooster hves who 
can crow as loud as I can.” 

One morning, while he was strutting around 
as usual and making more noise than all the 
rest of the barnyard people put together, the 
brown hen came and spoke to him. 

‘‘What a lovely day this is,” she said. 
“The sun shines bright, and all the birds 
are singing. Let us fly over the fence and 
hunt for worms in the garden.” 

“All right,” the rooster agreed. And they 


56 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

flew over the fence and hurried away to the 
garden. 

It so happened that a sly old fox was 
lurking near by. He saw the rooster and said 
to himself, “That fellow is just what I want 
for my dinner. I wish he would come over 
here where I am hiding in the bushes 
so I could pounce on him. But there he is 
scratching around in the middle of the gar- 
den. I shall have to go out in the open and 
speak to him.” 

So the fox walked toward the rooster. 
However, the rooster and the hen saw him 
coming, and they were careful to keep at a 
safe distance. 

“Don’t be afraid, Mr. Rooster,” the fox 
said; “I want to have a friendly chat with 
you.” 

“All right,” the rooster responded; “I 
don’t object to visiting with you, if only you 
don’t come any nearer.” 

“Your suspicions hurt my feelings,” the 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 57 

fox said. “But never mind. I wanted to 
ask you how many tricks you could 
do.” 

“I can do three tricks,” the rooster re- 
plied. “How many can you do?'^ 

“Threescore and thirteen,” the fox de- 
clared. 

“ Can you? I would n’t have thought it,” 
the rooster said; “and what is the best one 
of all.?” 

“It is one my grandfather taught me,” the 
fox answered. “ He could shut both eyes and 
give a great shout, and I learned to do the 
same thing.” 

“Why, that’s nothing! I could do that 
myself,” the rooster bragged. 

“Do you really think you could?” the 
fox asked. “Try it.” 

So the rooster swelled out his breast 
and crowed as loud as he could, “Cock-a- 
doodle-do.” And then he flapped his wings 
as if he had done a great thing. But he had 


58 F airy-T ale F oxes 

only shut one eye, for he wanted to watch 
the fox with the other. 

“ Very pretty,” the fox commented — ‘‘ al- 
most as pretty as when the parson preaches 
in church. However, you did n’t shut both 
eyes. I hardly thought you could do the 
trick as well as my grandfather did.” 

‘‘Yes I can, too,” the rooster affirmed, 
and he forgot the need of caution, closed 
both eyes, and crowed, “ Cock-a-doodle — ” 

But he never finished the crow, for as soon 
as his eyes were shut, the sly fox leaped for- 
ward, gripped him by the neck and started 
to run to the woods. 

The brown hen at once gave chase, crying: 
“Let go of that rooster! He belongs to 
me!” 

“Mr. Fox,” the rooster said, “that brown 
hen can go very swift. Do you know what it 
is to be henpecked.^ I do, and it is far from 
pleasant, I assure you. If you don’t want her 
to catch up with us and peck you, I advise 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 59 

you to call back: /This rooster is not yours. 
He is mine.’ ” 

The fox found it slow work lugging along 
the heavy rooster, and he did not wish to be 
pecked. He thought the plan the rooster 
suggested was a very good one, and he opened 
his mouth to shout back to the hen that the 
rooster was his. 

But by so doing he let go his grip on the 
captive’s neck, and no sooner did the rooster 
find himself at liberty than he flew up into 
a tree. Then he shut both eyes and gave a 
loud crow, and that is all there is to this 
story. 



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REYNARD AND THE FOX-HUNTER 


REYNARD AND THE FOX-HUNTER 


O NCE upon a time there was a fox- 
hunter who lived all alone in a hut 
near a forest. He came home one evening, 
tired after a long day spent in hunting, 
started a fire in his fireplace, and then sat 
down and fell asleep in his chair. 

By and by he awoke, and was surprised 
to see a fox sitting comfortably at the side 
of the fire. Reynard had come in at a hole 
under the door provided for the convenience 
of the dog, the cat, the pig, and the hens. It 
was a chilly autumn evening, and he had 
evidently visited the hut to get warm. 

“Oho!” the fox-hunter exclaimed, “here 
is a fox right in my own house. Well, Mr. 
Fox, here you’ll stay till I have a chance to 
rap you over the head. The hole under the 
door is your only chance to escape, and I ’ll 
see that you don’t get out there.” 


64 F airy-T ale F oxes 

Then he sat down on the floor with his 
back against the hole. 

‘‘Ah!” the fox said to himself, “I’ll soon 
make that stupid fellow get up.” 

So he searched around tilbhe found the 
man’s shoes, and he picked them up with his 
teeth and dropped them into the Are. “ Hur- 
ry!” he said to the fox-hunter; “jump up 
and save your shoes!” 

“I shan’t get up for that, my fine gentle- 
man,” the fox-hunter responded stubbornly. 

“Then I’ll try again,” the fox said. 

He soon found the man’s stockings and 
put them in the fire. “You’ll have to be 
quick if you want to save them,” he said to 
the man. 

“I shan’t get up for that, my fine gentle- 
man,” the fox-hunter declared. 

So the fox made another exploring trip 
around the room and found the man’s over- 
coat. He brought it and pushed it into the 
fire. “You’ll be cold when winter comes if 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 65 

you don’t have that coat,” he said to the 
man. “Hurry, and rescue it.” 

“I shan’t get up for that, my fine gentle- 
man,” the fox-hunter persisted. 

“I’m not through with you yet,” the fox 
retorted. 

He next dragged the man’s best trousers 
across the floor and fed them to the flames. 
“Smely, you can’t afford to lose those,” he 
said to the man. “Hustle over here and save 
them.” 

“I shan’t get up for that, my fine gentle- 
man,” the fox-hunter said. 

“I don’t see much left in the hut except 
your straw bed,” the fox remarked. “We’ll 
see how you like having that burned.” 

He tugged at the bed until he got it to the 
fire. Then he pushed it in. “Now will you 
get up?” the fox cried. 

The flames flared hot and^high and crack- 
led fiercely, and the hut was filled with 
smoke. 


66 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

“That is more than I can stand!” the 
man shouted, and he jumped up in great 
alarm. 

Now the fox had the chance he had been 
working for. So he took advantage of the 
confusion and slipped out of the hole imder 
the door and ran off into the forest. 


THE FOX AND THE OLD CAT AND DOG 





THE FOX AND THE OLD CAT 
AND DOG 


T here was once a man and his wife who 
had an old cat and an old dog. One day 
the man, whose name was Simon, said to his 
wife, whose name was Susan: “Why should 
we continue to keep our old cat? She never 
catches any mice nowadays. I have made 
up my mind to drown her.’’ 

But his wife said: “Don’t do that. I think 
she can still catch mice.” 

“ Rubbish ! ” Simon exclaimed. “ The mice 
might dance on her, and she could never 
catch one. No, I will put her in a bag and 
drown her.” 

Susan was very sorrowful when she heard 
him say that, and so was the cat, who had 
been sitting under the table listening to the 
conversation. Simon went out to the barn 


70 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

to get a bag, and at once the cat began to 
miaow and look up beseechingly into the face 
of her mistress. This was more than Susan 
could bear, and she opened the door and 
said, ‘‘Fly for your life, you poor beast, and 
get well away from here before your master 
returns.” 

The cat took her advice and ran as fast 
as she could into the forest, and when Simon 
brought his bag into the house his wife told 
him that the cat had vanished. 

“So much the better for her,” was Simon’s 
comment; “and now that she is out of the 
way we must consider what to do with our 
old dog. He is so nearly blind and deaf that 
he is worse than useless. He always barks 
when there is no need, and makes not a sound 
when he ought to bark. I think I shall have 
to shoot him.” 

But the soft-hearted Susan said: “Surely 
he is not as useless as you imagine; and 
remember how long and faithfully he has 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 71 

served us. We can very well afford to take 
care of him for the rest of his life.’’ 

“Don’t be foolish,” her husband re- 
sponded. “The courtyard might be full of 
thieves, and he would never know it. Be- 
sides, no thief would be afraid of him, for he 
has not a tooth in his head. If he has served 
us, he has had his food every day to pay for 
it. No, it’s all up with him. I am going to 
the shed to load my gun, and then I’ll take 
him out and shoot him.” 

Susan was very unhappy at these words, 
and so was the dog, who was lying in a corner 
of the room and had heard everything. As 
soon as the man went to the shed, the old 
dog stood up and howled so mournfully that 
Susan opened the door, and said, “Fly for 
your life, you poor beast.” And the dog ran 
off to the forest with his tail between his legs. 

When Simon came in Susan said to him, 
“The dog has disappeared.” 

“That’s lucky for him,” Simon remarked, 


72 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

but his wife'sighed. She had been very fond 
of the old dog, and though she was glad he 
had escaped she did not like to think of his 
wandering around homeless. 

It happened that the dog and cat met each 
other in the forest. They had not been the 
best of friends at home, but each was glad 
of the other’s company there in the lonely 
woodland. They sat down under a tree and 
were relating their woes to one another when 
a fox came along. He saw the two discon- 
solate creatures sitting there talking over 
their sad fate, and he asked them what they 
were grumbling about. 

The cat replied, ‘T have caught no end 
of mice in my day, but now that I am old 
and past work my master wants to drown 
me.” 

‘‘As for me,” the dog said, “many a night 
have I watched and guarded my master’s 
house, but now that I am old and deaf he 
wants to shoot me.” 


73 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

“That’s the way of the world,” the fox 
commented. “However, I will help you to 
regain your master’s favor if you will first 
help me in my own troubles.” 

They promised to do their best, and the 
fox said: “The wolf has declared war against 
me, and is at this moment marching to fight 
me supported by a bear and a wild boar. 
To-morrow there will be a fierce battle be- 
tween us.” 

“ I have n’t the least desire to do any fight- 
ing,” the dog responded, “but I will stand 
by you.” 

“Yes, and so will I,” the cat said. “If we 
are killed, it at any rate is better to die on 
the field of battle than to perish ignobly at 
home.” 

They shook paws with the fox and con- 
cluded the bargain. Then the fox sent a mes- 
sage to the wolf naming a certain place where 
he and the cat and dog would be on the mor- 
row ready for the battle. 


74 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

Early the next day the three friends set 
forth to encounter the fox’s enemies. But 
the wolf, the bear, and the wild boar arrived 
on the spot first. When they had waited 
some time for the fox and his allies, the bear 
said, “I will climb up into the great oak that 
grows here, and perhaps I can see them com- 
ing.” 

Up he scrambled, and after looking around, 
he said: ‘‘Ah! there they are off in the dis- 
tance marching in this direction like a 
mighty army. They seem to be carrying a 
great sword. No, it is not a sword, but the 
tail of the cat. She is lame and limps on three 
legs and I suppose holds her tail erect from 
pain.” 

The bear and his companions laughed and 
jeered and made merry over the appearance 
of their enemies and did not doubt that they 
could easily vanquish them. It was a warm 
day, and presently the bear said: “The heat 
makes me sleepy. We shall have to wait here 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 75 

for those fellows a long time at the rate they 
are coming. I’m going to curl myself up in 
the fork of the tree and have a nap.” 

The wolf thought he also would have a 
nap, and he lay down under the tree. Then 
the wild boar concluded to make himself 
comfortable by creeping into a heap of dead 
leaves, where he covered himself so that 
no portion of him was in sight except one 
ear. 

They were all asleep when the fox, the dog, 
and the cat arrived. Just then the boar 
chanced to twitch his exposed ear. The cat 
saw it and thought it was a mouse. Immedi- 
ately she made a spring and fastened her 
claws and teeth into it. At this the boar 
leaped up in a dreadful fright, gave one loud 
grunt of dismay, and scampered oflf into the 
woodland. 

The cat was no less startled than the boar. 
She spit with terror and scrambled up the 
tree right into the face of the bear. Now it 


76 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

was the bear’s turn to be alarmed, and with 
a startled growl he half jumped and haK fell 
out of the oak. He came down on the wolf 
and killed him as dead as a stone. But the 
bear did not stop to find out how badly the 
wolf was hurt. He made all haste to escape 
into the forest. 

The fox had won the battle, and he said 
to his companions, ‘‘You can now return to 
your old home and I will go with you 
and try to make you welcome.” 

On the way he caught a score of mice. 
When he and the cat and the dog reached 
Simon’s cottage he laid the mice down be- 
side the door and said to the cat, “Take in 
one mouse after another and lay them down 
before your master.” 

“I will do whatever you tell me to do,” 
the cat agreed. 

It was just after sundown, the day’s work 
was done, and Simon and his wife were sit- 
ting at the fireside. The cat brought in the 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 77 

twenty mice, one at a time, and laid them at 
the man’s feet. 

Then Susan said to her husband, ‘‘Just 
look, here is our old cat back again, and see 
what a lot of mice she has caught.” 

“Wonders will never cease!” Simon ex- 
claimed. “I certainly thought the old cat 
would never catch another mouse.” 

“Well,” Susan remarked, “I always said 
our cat was a most excellent creature, but 
you men think you know best.” 

Meanwhile the fox said to the dog: “Your 
master has recently killed a pig. When the 
night gets a little darker, you must go into 
the courtyard and bark with all your might 
just as if the pork were being stolen.” 

“All right,” the dog said. And after he 
had waited about half an hour he went 
into the courtyard and began to bark 
loudly. 

“Our dog must have come back,” Susan 
said to her husband, “for I hear him bark- 


78 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

ing. Do go out and see what is the mat- 
ter. Perhaps thieves are stealing our sau- 
sages.” 

But Simon said: ‘‘The foolish beast is as 
deaf as a post and is^lways barking at noth- 
ing.” And he] would not go out to inves- 
tigate. 

The next morning Susan got up early to 
get ready to go to church in a neighboring 
town, and she thought she would take some 
sausages to her aunt who lived there. But 
when she went to her larder she found a great 
hole in the floor, and all the sausages were 
gone. 

“Simon!” she called to her husband, 
“thieves have been here last night, and they 
have not left a single sausage. You see I was 
perfectly right about the warning our old 
dog gave us. Oh! if you had only gone out 
when I asked you to!” 

Simon scratched his head and said: “I 
can’t understand this thing. I did not think 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 79 

it possible that the old dog was so quick at 
hearing.” 

“Ah!” Susan said, “I have told you again 
and again that our old dog was the best dog 
in the world, but as usual you thought you 
knew better than I did ! Why is it that men 
are so unreasonable 

After that the cat and the dog were re- 
stored to favor. They were satisfied, and 
Simon and Susan were satisfied, and so was 
the fox, for he had carried away the sau- 
sages. 



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THE TWO FOXES AND THE HOT ROLLS 



THE TWO FOXES AND THE HOT 
ROLLS 


T WO foxes lay at the edge of some woods 
near a roadway. One was a big fox, and 
the other was a little fox. They were wonder- 
ing how they could get something to eat. It 
was winter time and the snow whitened all 
the earth. Not a blade of grass was to be 
seen, and not a bird or a mouse stirred in the 
fields. 

‘‘This is hungry weather,” the big fox 
said. “I feel as hollow as an eggshell.” 

“So do I,” the little fox said. “I’m hungry 
enough to eat my own ears if I could reach 
them. Let us hunt for game in the forest.” 

“Oh, no!” That would be too much like 
work,” the big fox objected. “We will fare 
just as well if we wait here and depend on 
our wits.” 

Pretty soon they saw a peasant girl walk- 


84 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

ing along the road with a basket on her back, 
and out of the basket came a very pleasant 
smell — the smell of hot rolls. 

‘‘That girl is bringing us our dinner,’’ the 
big fox said. 

“I think not,” the little fox sighed. “She 
is going right along past. She does n’t know 
we are here.” 

“The girl needs to be taught a lesson,” the 
big fox declared. “ She has our dinner in that 
basket she is carrying, and we must make her 
give it to us.” 

“But how can you make her do that?” 
the little fox asked. 

“We will hmry to get ahead of her,” the 
big fox replied. “Then you lie down in the 
road and pretend to be dead. The girl will 
put down her basket to take you up, and I 
will leap forward and run off with the basket. 
Those rolls will make us a splendid feast.” 

“Very well,” the little fox agreed; “I can 
do my part if you can do yours.” 



THE PEASANT GIRL IHINKS SHE HAS 
FOUND A DEAD FOX 





85 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

So they ran in a roundabout way through 
the woods till they had gone far enough to 
get into the road ahead of the girl without 
being seen. The big fox hid behind a snow- 
drift, and the little fox lay down in the road. 

Presently the girl came along and saw the 
fox stretched out there motionless. She 
stopped and looked at him and poked him 
with hei cane. 

“Oho!” she exclaimed, “I’m in luck to- 
day. Here’s a dead fox, and he is a nice, 
sleek beast whose skin will sell for a good bit 
of money.” 

She put down the basket and stooped to 
pick up the little fox. But that instant the 
big fox snatched up the basket and scam- 
pered off with it. The girl turned away from 
the little fox to see what was going on, and 
in a twinkhng he came to hfe and followed 
his companion. 

But the big fox ran on ahead and showed 
quite plainly that he meant to keep the rolls 


86 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

all to himself. At length he came to a black- 
smith’s shop and stopped, and the little fox 
joined him. A horse was tied at the door, and 
the horse was shod with golden shoes. The 
foxes noticed that one of the shoes had a 
name on it. 

‘‘ Come,” the big fox said to his companion, 
‘Tet us go near and see what is written on 
that shoe.” 

“No, I will not go,” the little fox re- 
sponded, “for I do not know how to read.” 

“Then I will go alone,” the big fox said. 
“I never saw a name on a horseshoe before, 
and I am curious to learn what it is.” 

But when he drew near, the horse lifted 
the foot on which was the golden shoe with 
a name on it and gave the fox a kick that 
killed him. 

“Ah!” the little fox said, “I am glad that 
I am no scholar.” And he went off with all 
the rolls. 


A FOX AND HIS FRIENDS 


\ 


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. I 



A FOX AND HIS FRIENDS 


I N a certain village there was once a man 
whose whole property consisted of the 
house he dwelt in, a horse, a greyhound, and 
a gun. His only occupation was hunting, 
and he depended on the game he shot for his 
living. 

One fine day he took his gun and called 
his dog, mounted his horse, and set off to 
hunt. He went up among the high moun- 
tains, and after riding a long distance, he 
reached a little open valley. On its far side 
he tied his horse to a tree, and walked for- 
ward into the thick woods with his gun on 
his shoulder, and his dog by his side. 

All day the man hunted, but he only killed 
a single deer. When he returned with it to 
the little valley he was astonished to see a 
fox lying in the grass beside his horse. He 
raised his gun to shoot the creature, but 


90 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

Reynard, who had observed what the man 
was about, sprang quickly to his feet and 
said imploringly: ^‘For the love of Heaven, 
spare my life ! Let me be your servant. I 
will do your bidding faithfully and will guard 
your horse while you are hunting.” 

The man took pity on the fox and said, 
^‘All right, you can go home with me, and 
you shall be well treated as long as you do 
as you have promised to do.” 

Then he laid the deer across the horse in 
front of the saddle, mounted, and returned 
to the village, with his dog and the fox run- 
ning along at the horse’s heels. After he 
reached home he skinned the deer, put away 
such portions of it as he wanted to eat, and 
threw the rest to the fox. 

The night passed, and in the first dawn of 
morning the man again set out. He took the 
fox with him and went to the same high 
valley to which he had gone the day previous. 
There he tied his horse and left the fox to 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 9i 

guard him while he went into the forest to 
hunt. 

By and by a bear came along and saw the 
horse and would have killed and devoured 
him, but the fox said: ‘‘I beg you not to 
harm this horse. He belongs to a hunter 
who is my master. Stay with me till the 
himter returns, and he will allow you to be- 
come his servant and will take us both to 
his home and feed us.” 

‘‘If that is so he is just such a master as 
I would like to have,” the bear said joyfully, 
and he lay down beside the fox to await the 
man’s return. 

Late in the day the man came out of the 
woods carrying two deer that he had killed. 
He was much surprised to see a bear lying 
there with the fox, and he threw down the 
deer and hastily took aim at the bear with 
his gun. But the fox sprang forward and said : 
“I beseech you, good sir, to spare this bear’s 
life. Take him home with you, and he will 


92 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

keep me company in guarding your horse, 
and he will aid you in every need and 
danger.’^ 

“Very well,’’ the man said, “it shall be as 
you wish.” 

Then he adjusted the two deer across his 
horse and rode home in high good humor, 
accompanied by the fox and the bear. 

On the following day he again went hunt- 
ing in the mountains and left his horse in the 
same little valley. The fox and the bear had 
come too, and they stayed with the horse as 
guards. While the man was roaming in the 
forest with his gun and his dog, a wolf saw 
the horse and would have sprung on him 
had not the fox interposed. 

“Do this horse no injury,” the fox said. 
“This bear and I are here to protect him, and 
he belongs to our master. I advise you to 
join us in serving the owner of the horse. He 
will take you to his house and feed and lodge 
you.” 


F airy-T ale F oxes 93 

“Then I will be his servant,” the woK 
said. 

The man presently came back to the val- 
ley, and he would have shot the wolf had 
not the foxdeaped forward and explained 
that the woM intended to serve him. This 
time he had three of the wild creatures of the 
forest following him when he went home. 

The next day he rode forth and climbed 
once more to the remote valley in the moun- 
tains, and there he left his three servants 
guarding his horse. While he was hunting this 
time a great bird of the desert came soaring 
over the forest heights. The bird spied the 
hunter’s steed and swooped down to carry 
him off, but the fox entreated the bird not 
to'harm the horse and urged him to join the 
other animals in serving the horse’s mas- 
ter. 

The bird of the desert agreed to do as the 
fox suggested, and they all went home with 
the man, and he fed and took care of them. 


94 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

They lived very happily with him and al- 
ways accompanied him when he went hunt- 
ing. One day the fox said to his companions: 
“See here, my friends, we must provide a 
wife for our worthy master.’^ 

“Good!” the others exclaimed, “but how 
shall we go about it? We do not know where 
to find any suitable maiden for him.” 

“The emperor has a daughter,” Reynard 
said. “Let us get her for our master. Bird of 
the Desert, I think you had better attempt 
the task while the rest of us remain here. 
Set off at once for the imperial castle, and 
after you arrive watch until the princess 
goes out for a walk. Then seize her and bring 
her back with you.” 

So the bird of the desert spread his broad 
wings, and away he fiew to the imperial 
castle. There he alighted in a tall tree and 
watched for the emperor’s daughter. Just 
at nightfall she and her waiting-woman came 
out of the castle and started for a walk. But 


95 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

in a trice the bird of the desert flapped down 
to where she was, put her on his back, and 
flew with her to the home of his master. 

The princess was beautiful and amiable, 
and the hunter was youthful and clever, and 
they soon grew very fond of each other. 
Everything progressed as well as the fox 
and his friends could have desired, and 
presently the wedding was celebrated. 

Meanwhile there was great consternation 
at the imperial castle. The emperor was 
much distressed to have his daughter car- 
ried off, and he offered a rich reward to who- 
ever should bring her safely home, but for 
some time no one would undertake the ad- 
venture. Then a gypsy woman presented 
herself before the emperor. “Your High- 
ness,’’ she said, “if your daughter still lives, 
I think I can find her.” 

“Hurrah!” the emperor cried out in de- 
light, “and as soon as you bring her here to 
me you shall have the rich reward.” 


96 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

The gypsy woman went home, and by 
her enchantments learned that the princess 
was distant ten days’ journey at the home 
of the hunter. In order to go thither she 
decided to use a magic rug that was in her 
possession. Without delay she seated her- 
self on the rug, gave it a crack with her 
riding-whip, and up rose the rug into the 
air. It carried her straight to the place where 
the hunter was living with his wife, the 
emperor’s daughter. 

She allowed herself to descend to the 
ground a short distance from the hunter’s 
dwelling and left her rug and riding-whip ly- 
ing there. Then she hid among some bushes 
close to the house entrance and watched 
until the princess came out for her evening 
walk. The princess had gone only a little 
way when the gypsy woman joined her, as 
if by chance, and they went along together. 
Presently the gypsy woman artfully induced 
her companion to turn aside on a bypath 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 97 

that took them to where the magic rug lay 
outspread on the grass. 

No sooner did the princess see it than she 
exclaimed: ‘‘Why, here is a nice rug! Let us 
sit on it.” 

Nothing could have pleased the gypsy 
woman better. They seated themselves on 
the rug, she gave it a blow with her riding- 
whip, and away they went through the 
air to the imperial castle as swift as the 
wind. 

The joy of the emperor was boundless 
when his daughter was restored to him, and 
he gave the gypsy woman a generous reward. 
Afterward he shut the princess up in her 
room and forbade her to leave it. There she 
had to stay with two maids to watch and 
wait on her. 

The hunter and his servants were a good 
deal disconcerted by the disappearance of 
the princess, and the fox did not rest till he 
learned what had become of her. Then he 


98 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

summoned his fellow animals to a coimcil 
and addressed them in these words: — 

‘‘Friends and comrades, we succeeded in 
marrying our master to the daughter of the 
emperor, but she has been forcibly taken 
away, and he is left lonely. We must bring 
her back. She is now in the imperial cas- 
tle kept under strict watch, and is never 
allowed to leave her chamber. It is only 
by strategy that we can regain possession 
of her.” 

“What shall we do?” the bear asked. 

“Well,” the fox said, “I can think of noth- 
ing better than to have the bird of the des- 
ert carry me to the emperor’s garden. After 
we get there I will transform myself into a 
pretty, striped kitten, and will play about 
under the princess’s window. When she sees 
me she will send her maids to catch me. But 
I shall not allow myself to be caught until 
the princess herself comes out. Bird of the 
Desert, you are to be near at hand, and the 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 99 

moment she seizes me you are to pick her 
up and carry us both back here.’’ 

They all agreed that this was a good plan, 
and the bird of the desert immediately took 
the fox on his back and flew with him to the 
imperial castle. There he set him down. No 
sooner did Reynard feel solid ground under 
his feet than he transformed himself into a 
pretty striped kitten and began to spring 
about in the most graceful and fantastic 
fashion beneath the window of the princess’s 
chamber. Thus he succeeded in attracting 
her attention, and she sent her maids down 
to bring the kitten to her. But Reynard, 
though a cat in form, still had a fox’s cun- 
ning, and he did not allow himself to be 
caught. 

When the princess saw how the kitten 
eluded her maids she came out herself and 
joined in the chase, and she caught the kitten 
with no trouble at all. But that instant 
the bird of the desert flew forth from his 


100 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

place of concealment, seized her with the 
kitten still in her grasp, and bore them away 
to the home of the hunter. 

As soon as the emperor was informed of 
what had happened, he ordered his army to 
prepare for war and to march as promptly 
as possible against the hunter and his 
beasts. 

About the time that the army set forth on 
its expedition Reynard learned of the em- 
peror’s plans and summoned his comrades 
to consider what was to be done. 

“We are in great peril,” he said. “The 
emperor is marching with his whole army to 
exterminate us. Our only way to defeat him 
is to raise a great force of our friends and 
make a brave stand against him. Mr. Bear, 
how many bears can you muster?” 

“More than three hundred,” the bear 
replied. 

“What can you do, Mr. Wolf?” the fox 
asked next. 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 101 

‘T can bring five hundred wolves,” the 
woK answered. 

“And you, Bird of the Desert, what help 
can you furnish?” the fox inquired. 

“I promise to recruit at least two hundred 
birds like myself,” was the response. 

“ Splendid ! ” the fox cried. “ Go, all of you, 
and assemble your forces. When they are 
ready I will tell you what to do next.” 

So the bear and wolf betook themselves 
to the forest, and the great bird flew off to 
the desert. Soon heaven and earth resounded 
with the din of approaching multitudes. 
Here came the army of bears, there came 
the wolves, and the sky was darkened as 
with a thundercloud by the host of birds of 
the desert. 

When the creatures were all drawn up in 
martial array the fox said: “To-night, after 
the emperor has encamped, you bears must 
go and stampede all his horses. But he will 
procure fresh horses, and the next night you 


102 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

wolves must creep into the camp and gnaw 
all the saddles so they will be useless. How- 
ever, the emperor will get another supply of 
saddles, and on the third day will be ready 
to begin his march. As soon as he starts, 
you birds of the desert must be prepared 
to drop great pieces of rock down on the 
army.” 

All agreed to do as the fox had ordered, 
and the several detachments of the beasts 
set forth. The first night, when the imperial 
host had encamped, the bears drove off all 
the horses. Early the next morning the sol- 
diers went to the emperor and said, “Wild 
beasts prowled into the camp last night and 
frightened the horses so that they have all 
run away.” 

“Then get more horses,” the emperor 
commanded, “and be ready to march on the 
morrow.” 

The horses were procured, but on the 
second night the wolves came and gnawed the 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 103 

saddles. In the morning the soldiers awoke 
and saw the havoc and went to the emperor. 
“Your Majesty/’ they said, bending low, 
“ some wild creatures again entered the camp 
last night, and they have ruined all the sad- 
dles by gnawing them to tatters.” 

“Then buy more saddles and be ready to 
march to-morrow at dawn,” the emperor 
ordered. 

More saddles were hurriedly bought, and 
the next morning the troops mounted their 
horses to ride forward on their expedition. 
But they had scarcely started when the 
birds of the desert began to let fall great 
numbers of heavy stones into the midst of 
the troops. The men became frightened and 
confused, their horses pranced about in 
terror, and the emperor shouted: “My brave 
soldiers, it is impossible for you to fight when 
you are assailed in such a fashion. Let the 
hunter and the beasts keep my daughter. I 
command you to retreat before you are 


104 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

destroyed by the rocks that descend on us 
from the sky.” 

So away they all went as fast as they could 
go, and after that the hunter and his wife 
lived in peace and joy to the end of their 
days. 


THE HUNGRY FOX AND HIS 
BREAKFAST 














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THE HUNGRY FOX AND HIS 
BREAKFAST 

O NCE there was a fox who lived all 
alone in a little house in the forest. He 
woke up one morning and went to the cup- 
board to get something to eat, and found 
nothing there. 

“Well,” he said, “if I am to have any 
breakfast I shall have to go and look aroimd 
in the woods for it.” 

So out he went and rambled along a forest 
byway imtil he met a hen. She was afraid 
of him and flew over to the other side of the 
road. 

“You needn’t be scared,” the fox said. 
“I used to eat hens, but I have given up 
those old ways of mine.” 

“Where are you going?” the hen asked. 
“Oh, I’m just going for a walk,” the fox 


108 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

replied. “You can go with me if you like. 
I will let you ride bn my back.” 

“Thank you,” the hen said, “I think I 
would like to go if I can ride on your back.” 

“Get on, then,” the fox said, “and make 
yourself comfortable.” 

So the hen got on his back and the fox 
walked on. Presently they met a dove, and 
the dove started to fly away. 

“You need n’t fly away because you are 
afraid of me,” the fox called out. “I used to 
eat doves, but I don’t any more.” 

“Where are you going the dove asked. 
“ I am going for a walk,” the fox answered. 
“ Do you see this hen that I have on my back? 
She is going with me. I am giving her a ride, 
and I will give you a ride, too.” 

“That will be very nice,” the dove said, 
“and I will go with you.” 

She flew to the fox’s back and settled down 
beside the hen. Then the fox resumed his 
walk, and after a time he met a mouse. As 


* Fairy-Tale Foxes 109 

soon as the mouse saw the fox he ran into 
the tall roadside grass and hid. 

“Little mouse,” the fox said, “you 
need n’t be frightened. I used to eat little 
mice, but I don’t any more.” 

“Where are you going?” the mouse 
asked. 

“I ’m going for a walk,” the fox replied. 
“The hen and the dove that you see on my 
back are going with me. There ’s room for 
one more if you care to ride.” 

“I don’t often have a chance to ride,” 
the mouse responded, “and I think I will 

The fox helped the mouse onto his back 
and walked on and on by a roundabout way 
until he reached his home. 

“This is where I live,” he said to the pas- 
sengers he was carrying. “Come in and see 
what a nice little house it is.” 

He was so polite and had been so kind in 
giving them a ride that they could not well 


110 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

refuse. But as soon as he had them inside 
he slammed the door shut and locked it. 

Then he turned to the hen and said, “ Now 
I will have my breakfast, and I will begin 
with you.’" 

‘‘Have mercy!” the hen cried. “Why 
should you treat me so?” 

“You scratch in the garden,” the fox said. 
And he pounced on her and ate her. 

“Now, dove, it’s your turn,” he said. 

“Spare me!” the dove begged. “Surely, 
I have not done anything.” 

“No!” the fox snorted, “you have not, 
and that is just the trouble. You are a lazy 
thing who sits idle on the roof all day and 
never works.” 

He made a sudden leap, seized the dove 
in his sharp teeth and ate her. 

Then he looked about once more and said, 
“Come here, mouse.” 

But the mouse was not there. He had 
found a crack at the bottom of the door and 



THE HEN, THE DOVE, AND THE MOUS 


GO FOR A RIDE 




Ill 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

had crawled through it. As soon as he was 
outside he hastened to the road and ran along 
it until he met a man with a gun. 

‘‘Mr. Man,” he said, “a wicked fox lives 
in a little house back here, and he has just 
killed and eaten a hen and a dove ! He invited 
them and me into his house, but I crawled 
out of a crack under the door and ran away. 
I will show you where he lives.” 

“Go ahead, then,” the man said, “and I 
will follow you.” 

Pretty soon they approached the fox’s 
house. Reynard saw them coming, and he 
jumped out of a window and started to rim; 
but he was not quite quick enough, and the 
man shot him. 

“Ha, ha!” the little mouse laughed, and 
he climbed up on a stump and waved his 
tail. 




REYNARD AND THE LITTLE BIRDS 














REYNARD AND THE LITTLE 
BIRDS 


O NCE upon a time a little bird built a 
nest in a hedge, laid some eggs in the 
nest, and hatched a brood of young birds. 
She was very happy taking care of her fam- 
ily until one day a fox came prowling around 
and discovered the fledglings. ‘"Aha! here’s 
a flne breakfast for me,” he said to himself. 
And then he addressed the mother bird who 
was singing gayly near by. 

“Good-morning, little bird,” he said. 
“How beautiful you are, and how sweetly 
you sing ! But though I admire you and your 
song, I like better still your young ones in 
the nest here in the hedge. I intend to eat 
them.” 

His words made the little bird feel very 
anxious, but she concealed her distress and 
said with a smile : “ What ! eat these tiny birds ? 


f 

116 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

You are not as clever as I thought if you 
would do that. They would not make you a 
mouthful. Wait until they are grown and 
then return and eat both them and me.” 

“Good!” the fox exclaimed, “that is just 
what I will do.” 

So the bird appointed a day when he was 
to have his feast, and the fox walked oflf 
whistling in high glee. 

Not long afterward the bird went to a dog 
and said, “I know how you can get a deli- 
cious meal.” 

“How?” the dog asked. 

The bird told him of her arrangement with 
the fox, and said in conclusion, “You have 
only to be on hand when the appointed day 
comes, and you will catch the fox very eas- 
ily.” 

“I will be there,” the dog assured her. 
“This is what I call a stroke of luck. I ’ll tell 
you what you must do, little bird. I will hide 
in the bushes near your nest, and when the 


117 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

fox arrives/you must beg him to delay eating 
you and your children until you have sung 
one last song. He surely will not refuse such 
a request. Then perch on a twig and sing 
out loud and clear. That will be the signal 
for me. I will spring from my ambush, and 
— snap! All will be over with Mr. Fox.’’ 

shall try to do everything exactly as 
you have planned,” the little bird agreed. 

When the appointed day came the fox 
drew near the hedge where the little bird had 
her nest, saying to himself, 

“These fat little birds, so tender and sweet. 

Will make a fine dinner for me to eat.” 

Then he saw the mother bird and her 
young ones sitting on a branch of the hedge. 
“Well, little bird, how goes it.^” he said. 

“I have been expecting you,” she re- 
sponded, “and here we are waiting. But 
before you eat us I have one last request to 
make — let me sing my favorite song just 


once more. 


118 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

‘‘Yes, yes, sing away for all I care,” the 
fox said; “only be quick about it.” 

So the little bird perched on one of the 
topmost twigs of the hedge and began her 
song right lustily. The dog heard her, where 
he was lurking in a neighboring thicket, and 
in a twinkling he rushed forth, seized the 
fox and killed and ate him. So the little bird 
and her children were rid of their enemy and 
they lived in the hedge unmolested and happy 
until the chill of the approaching winter 
made them fly away to the warm southland. 


THE FOX AND HIS FIVE HUNGRY 

COMRADES 






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.UA1 


THE FOX AND HIS FIVE 
HUNGRY COMRADES 


O NCE upon a time there was a man and 
his wife who dwelt in a little house far 
away from any neighbors. But the loneli- 
ness of their situation did not trouble them, 
and they would have been perfectly happy 
if it had not been for a marten who came 
nearly every night to their poultry yard and 
carried off one of their fowls. 

The man contrived all sorts of traps to 
catch the thief, but the marten was clever 
enough to avoid them. At last, the man 
stumbled over one of his own traps in the 
dusk of a winter evening, and he fell and 
struck his head against a stone and was 
killed. 

Not long afterward the marten came along 
on the lookout for his supper. He saw the 
man lying there lifeless, and he said, ‘‘Here 


122 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

is a prize. I must see if I can get this 
man away into the forest before he is 
found.” 

A light sledge stood near by, and with 
great effort the marten got the man onto it 
and began to drag the sledge toward the 
forest. He had not gone far when he met a 
squirrel. 

“Good-evening,” the squirrel remarked 
with a bow, “what is that you are dragging 
behind you.^^” 

The marten laughed and said: “Did you 
ever hear of anything so strange I am draw- 
ing a sledge with a dead man on it. This 
man set traps about his henhouse, thinking 
to catch me. But I was too sly for him, and 
to-night he stumbled over one of his own 
traps and was killed. He is very heavy. I 
wish you would help me draw the sledge.” 

The squirrel was quite willing to help, 
and the sledge moved slowly along. 

By and by a hare came running across a 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 123 

near field and stopped to find out why the 
marten and the squirrel were dragging the 
sledge. ‘‘What have you got there?’’ he 
asked. And the marten told his story and 
begged the hare to help pull. 

So the hare took hold and pulled his hard- 
est. 

After a while a fox joined them, and then 
a wolf, and lastly a bear. The bear was so 
large and strong that he was of more use in 
pulling the sledge than all the other five 
beasts put together. They went on until 
they were deep in the forest. Then they ate 
the man, and for a time their appetite was 
satisfied. But at length they began to get 
hungry again, and the wolf ,r who was the 
hungriest of all, said, “What shall we eat 
now, my friends?” 

“I suppose we shall have to eat the small- 
est of us,” the bear replied. 

“Yes, that is what we will do,” the wolf 
said. 


124 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

‘‘I quite agree with the bear and ,the 
wolf,” the fox affirmed. 

‘‘So do I,” the hare declared. 

“Those are my sentiments, too,” the 
marten said. And he turned around to seize 
the squirrel who was smaller than any of the 
others. But the squirrel ran up a tree, quick 
as a flash. Then the marten remembered 
that he was the next in size, and he hastily 
slipped into a hole in the rocks. 

“What shall we do now?” the wolf asked 
when he had recovered from his surprise. 

“We must eat the smallest of us,” the bear 
said, and stretched out a paw toward the 
hare. 

But the hare darted away into the woods 
before the bear’s paw touched him.' 

Now that the squirrel, the marten, and the 
hare were gone, the fox was the smallest of the 
three who were left. The wolf and the bear 
explained that they were very sorry, but 
they would have to eat him. 









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125 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

Instead of making an attempt to escape, 
the fox smiled at the other two and re- 
marked : Things taste stale on the lowlands. 
Why should you eat here? One’s appetite is 
much better on a mountain.” 

‘‘You are right,” the bear agreed; “and 
as there is a mountain close at hand, we will 
climb it before we begin feasting.” 

They started at once and chose a path 
that led up the mountain-side. The fox 
trotted cheerfully along with his two big 
companions, but presently managed to 
whisper to the wolf, “Tell me what you will 
have for your next meal after I am eaten.” 

This question disturbed the wolf very 
much. What would they have for their next 
meal, and who would be there to eat it? 
They had made a rule always to dine oflE the 
smallest of the party, and certainly he was 
smaller than the bear. 

These thoughts flashed through his head, 
and he hastened to say: “Dear brothers, 


126 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

would it not be better for us to live together 
as comrades than to devour each other? We 
could hunt and bring in the game and all 
share it. Is not my plan a good one?” 

“Nothing could be better,” the fox re- 
sponded. 

The bear would very much have pre- 
ferred a good dinner at once to any friend- 
ship, but the others were two to one, and he 
had to be content. 

For some time all went smoothly, the three 
companions secured plenty of game and had 
all they wanted to eat. They got through 
the winter very well, and then they dissolved 
their partnership and returned to their 
homes. 

A few weeks later the fox was wandering 
one morning in the forest when he noticed 
a magpie’s nest in the top branches of a tall, 
slender tree. He was particularly fond of 
young magpies, and he considered how he 
could get one for his dinner. At last he 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 127 

thought of a plan that seemed promising, 
and he sat down near the tree and began to 
stare hard at it. 

The magpie was watching him from a 
bough, and she asked, ‘‘What are you look- 
ing at, Mr. Fox?” 

“I’m looking at this tree,” he replied. “I 
intend to make some new snowshoes, and this 
is just the right tree to cut them out of.” 

The magpie screeched with alarm when 
she heard him say that. “Oh, don’t use this 
tree, I implore you, dear brother!” she ex- 
claimed. “ I have built my nest in it, and my 
young ones are not yet old enough to fly.” 

“It would not be easy to And another tree 
that would make such good snowshoes,” the 
fox responded, and he cocked his head on one 
side and gazed at the tree thoughtfully. 
“But I do not like to be inconsiderate,” he 
continued; “so, if you will give me one of 
your young ones, I will seek my snowshoes 
elsewhere.” 


128 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

The magpie did not know what else to do, 
and she agreed. Then she flew to her nest 
with a heavy heart and pushed out one of her 
young ones. The fox seized it in his mouth 
and ran off in triumph, while the magpie, 
though deeply grieved for the loss of her little 
one, found some comfort in the thought that 
only a bird of extraordinary wisdom would 
have dreamed of saving the rest by the sacri- 
fice of one. 

However, not many days had passed when 
the fox again came and sat under that same 
tree and stared at it steadfastly. A dreadful 
pang shot through the heart of the magpie as 
she peeped at him from a hole in the nest. 

“ What are you looking at? ” she asked in a 
trembling voice. 

‘‘At this tree,’’ he answered. “I was just 
thinking what good snowshoes it would 
make.” 

“Oh, my dear brother, do go away!” the 
magpie cried, and she hopped about in an- 


129 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

guish. ‘‘You know it was only the other day 
that you promised to get your snowshoes 
somewhere else.” 

“So I did,” the fox acknowledged, “but 
though I have searched far and wide I can- 
not find a single tree that is as good as this. 
I am sorry to disturb you, but really it is not 
my fault. The only thing I can do for you is 
to promise to continue my search for a suit- 
able tree if you will give me another of your 
young ones.” 

The poor magpie felt obliged to push a 
second of her young ones out of the nest, and 
she had not the consolation now of thinking 
that she was cleverer than other people. 

After the fox left she sat on the edge of her 
nest, her head drooping and her feathers all 
ruffled, looking very miserable. Indeed, she 
was so different from the gay, jaunty mag- 
pie, whom every creature in the forest knew, 
that a crow flying past stopped to find out 
what the matter was. He looked into the 


130 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

nest and said/‘ There should be two more 
young ones in there. Where are they.^” 

‘‘I had to give them to a fox,” the magpie 
replied. “He has been here twice in the last 
week, and he was going to cut down my tree 
to make snowshoes out of it. Each time I 
had to give him one of my young ones to 
save the tree.” 

“Oh, you foolish bird!” the crow cried; 
“the fox could not have cut down the tree. 
He has neither axe nor knife. He was only 
trying to frighten you. Dear me, to think 
that you have sacrificed your young ones for 
nothing! Where are your brains?” 

Then the crow fiew away leaving the mag- 
pie overcome with shame and sorrow. 

The next morning the fox returned to play 
his old trick on the magpie, but this time, 
instead of a cowering, timid bird, he found 
one with head erect and a determined voice, 
“You sly fox!” she said, “until you show me 
the axe or the knife you propose to use in 


131 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

cutting down this tree, you waste words in 
telling me that you intend to make snowshoes 
of it.” 

“Who has been giving you good advice?” 
the fox asked. 

“A crow who visited me yesterday,” the 
magpie replied. 

“A crow, was it?” the fox said. “Well, 
he had better not meet me or it may be the 
worse for him.” 

The fox had no desire to continue the con- 
versation with the magpie, and he went away. 
By and by he came forth from the forest into 
the open country and stretched himself out 
in a road just as if he were dead. Very’^soon 
he noticed, as he watched from the corner 
of his eye, that a crow was flying toward him. 
There he lay stiff and still with his tongue 
hanging out of his mouth. The crow, who 
wanted something to eat very badly, alighted 
near by and hopped along till he was close 
to the motionless Reynard. 


132 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

‘‘I wonder if this is the fox the magpie was 
telling me about,” he said. “Well, here the 
vandal is dead. The fellow has met the fate 
he deserved quicker than I would have ex- 
pected.” 

After looking at him first with one eye 
and then with the other, the crow stooped 
forward to peck at his tongue. Instantly the 
fox gave a snap and caught the intruder by 
the wing. 

The crow knew it was of no use to struggle, 
and he said: “Brother Fox, if you are really 
going to eat me, I beg you at least to do so in 
good style. Close by is a precipice. Why not 
first throw me over that so my feathers will 
be scattered about as I tumble down the 
rocks Then all who see them will know that 
your cunning is greater than mine.” 

This idea pleased the fox, who had a 
special grudge against the crow for depriving 
him of the young magpies. So he carried his 
captive to the edge of the precipice and threw 


133 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

him over, intending to go around by a path 
he knew and pick him up at the bottom. 

But no sooner was the wily bird released 
from the fox’s jaws than he checked his fall 
by waving his wings. Then he hovered just 
out of reach of his enemy and said jeeringly, 
‘‘Ah, Fox! you know well enough how to 
catch, but you cannot keep.” 

The fox turned away and slunk into the 
forest with his tail between his legs. He did 
not think now there was much prospect of his 
catching any game that day, for the crow was 
sure to fly back ahead of him and put all the 
animals on their guard. 

Presently he met «his old friend, the bear. 
Bruin’s wife had died the night before, and 
he had started out that morning to get some 
one to mourn over her. He had not gone very 
far from his comfortable cave when he came 
across the wolf. 

“Where are you going?” the wolf in- 
quired. 


134 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

“My wife has just died, and I am going 
to find a mourner,” the bear replied. 

“Let me mourn for you,” the wolf said. 

“Do you understand how to howl?” the 
bear asked. 

“Certainly, certainly,” the wolf assured 
him. 

“Well, I wish you would favor me with a 
specimen of your howling to make sure that 
you know your business,” the bear said. 

So the wolf broke forth in a song of lament. 
“Hu, hu, hu, hum, hoh!” he shouted, 
and he made such a noise that the bear put 
his paws up to his ears and begged him to 
stop. 

“You have no idea how to do it,” the 
bear growled angrily. “Be off with you.” 

A little farther on the hare was resting 
in a ditch. He saw the bear and came out 
and spoke to him. “Why do you look so 
sad?” he inquired. 

“My wife has died,” the bear answered. 


F airy-T ale F oxes 135 

and I am searching for a mourner who can 
lament over her properly.’’ 

“I will gladly do the lamenting for you,” 
the hare said. 

“Before I accept your kind oflFer,” the 
bear responded, “I would like to have you 
give me a proof of your talents.” 

“Pu, pu, pu, pum, poh!” the hare piped. 
But he had such a weak, small voice that 
the bear could hardly hear him. 

“No, that is not what I want,” the bear 
said. “I will bid you good-morning.” 

Later in the day he met the fox, and the 
fox also observed the bear’s altered looks 
and stopped to speak with him. “What is 
the matter with you.^^” the fox asked. 

“My wife has died, and I am seeking for 
a mourner,” the bear answered. 

“I will do the mourning,” the fox said. 

Bruin looked at him thoughtfully. “Can 
you howl well?” he questioned. 

“Yes, beautifully,” the fox declared. 


136 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

“Just listen.” And he lifted up his voice and 
cried: “Loo, loo, loo! Mrs. Bear, the famous 
spinner, the baker of toothsome cakes, the 
prudent housekeeper, is torn from her hus- 
band! Loo, loo, loo! she is gone, she is 
gone!” 

“Now at last I have found some one who 
understands the art of lamentation,” the 
bear exclaimed with a grunt of satisfaction. 
“Come with me to my cave.” 

So he led the way to his cave and showed 
the fox the body of Mrs. Bear lying on a bed 
of moss. There he left Reynard to mourn 
while he went outside and started a fire that 
he might cook some soup for the mourner. 

Presently the bear bethought himself that 
he did not hear any of the howling lamenta- 
tion he was expecting. Ladle in hand, he 
entered the cave and there, to his horror, he 
found the fox eating the dead bear, instead 
of wailing over her. The fox dashed out of 
the door, and the bear threw his ladle at 


137 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

him. But the fox escaped unhurt. That 
ended whatever friendship had existed be- 
tween the bear and the fox, and they never 
had anything to do with each other after- 
ward. 


I 


THE CRAFTY FOX AND THE 
INDUSTRIOUS GOOSE 



THE CRAFTY FOX AND THE 
INDUSTRIOUS GOOSE 


O NCE there was a fox and a goose who 
were close friends, and for a time they 
got along very well together in spite of the 
fact that the fox was crafty and lazy and the 
goose honest and industrious. 

One day the goose said to the fox, ‘‘Friend 
Fox, I have a piece of land, and if you will 
help me, we will cultivate it and raise some 
wheat to eat next winter.” 

“I would be greatly pleased to join with 
you in this enterprise,” the fox said. 

“We will do all the necessary work to- 
gether, share and share alike,” the goose told 
him. 

“Very well,” the fox agreed. 

They met shortly afterward, and the goose 
said, “It is time to plough our land.” 

“Yes, I think it is,” the fox responded. 


142 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

“but that is none of my business. You will 
have to do the ploughing.” 

So the goose did the ploughing, and then 
she went to the fox and said, “It is time to 
sow the seed.” 

“You are quite right,” the fox said, 
“and the quicker the sowing is done the 
better. But that is your business. I have 
nothing to do with it myseh.” 

So the goose did the sowing. Some months 
later she said to the fox, “Friend, the grass 
is choking the wheat. We must pull it out.” 

“Certainly, it ought to be pulled out,” the 
fox remarked with a wise nod of his head, 
“and you had better do the pulling as soon 
as possible. That is not my business.” 

So the goose pulled the grass out. By and 
by the wheat was ripe, and the goose said 
to the fox, “Our wheat must be reaped.” 

“All right,” the fox said, “you attend to 
that. It is not my business.” 

So the goose reaped the wheat. A few 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 143 

days afterward she sought the fox and said, 
‘‘It is time to put our wheat in the barn and 
do the threshing.” 

“Well, then,” the fox said, “I advise you 
to hustle and get it in before we have rain. 
After it is in the barn go right at the thresh- 
ing. Those things are none of my business. 
You must attend to them yourself. Let me 
know when the work is done and I will go 
to the barn and see what sort of a crop we 
have raised.” 

The goose got the wheat in and threshed 
it. But she had begun to feel distrustful of 
her friend, the fox. He had been sauntering 
about the forest all the months that she had 
been so busy with the wheat and had not 
helped her in the least. “I think I will con- 
sult the greyhound,” she said to herself. “He 
is a shrewd fellow whose advice would be 
worth having.” 

She soon found the greyhound, and when 
he heard her story he said: “The fox has 


144 . 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

been playing tricks on your good nature 
right along, and no doubt he will do so again 
if he has the chance. Take me to the barn 
before you tell him that the wheat is threshed 
and hide me in the sheaves so that only one 
of my eyes will be uncovered. I want to see 
what happens when he comes, but I don’t 
want him to know that I am there.” 

The goose went to the barn with* the grey- 
hound, and after she had him hid she brought 
the fox. Reynard was much delighted to see 
all the nice clean straw and the great heap of 
splendid grain. He began to dance about 
and sing: — 

“Hurrah, hurrah! 

Both straw and wheat are mine! 

Hurrah, hurrah! 

Both straw and wheat are mine ! ” 

While he was singing he approached the 
place where the greyhound was hiding in the 
straw, and saw his eye. 

‘‘Ah, there ’s a grape ! ” he cried. 


145 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

‘^But it is not ripe!” the greyhound 
shouted, and he leaped out of his hiding- 
place and killed the crafty fox. 

So the goose had all the straw and wheat, 
and she fared very comfortably that winter. 



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THE FOX AND THE WICKED WOLF 


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THE FOX AND THE WICKED 
WOLF 


O NCE a woK and a fox lived together 
in the same den. But the wolf treated 
the fox very roughly, and one day the fox 
said to him: “Be not so unkind to me, I pray 
you. If you persist in ill-using me, punish- 
ment will surely overtake you sooner or 
later.’’ 

This appeal made the wolf angry, and he 
gave the fox a blow that knocked him down, 
senseless. But after a while the fox recovered 
and said to the wolf: “I crave your pardon 
for my fault-finding. In future I hope to 
avoid displeasing you.” 

“I will forgive you only on condition that 
you promise to be my slave,” the wolf re- 
sponded. “You know very well now how 
severe I can be to those who offend me.” 
The fox prostrated himself before the 


150 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

wolf and said, “I will be your slave, and may 
you live long and never fail to subdue those 
who oppose you.” 

After that the fox bore the wolf’s inso- 
lence and abuse in silence, but he was far 
from being contented. One day, as he was 
rambling about, he noticed a break in the 
wall of a vineyard. 

‘‘Here is a chance to slip through and get 
some grapes,” he said. “But caution is the 
half of cleverness — perhaps this break in 
the wall has been made to deceive and en- 
snare me.” 

He went nearer and examined the gap 
warily; and lo! just the other side of it was 
a deep pit which the vineyard people had 
dug. The pit had a slight covering to conceal 
it and was well arranged to catch in it any 
wild beast that came through the gap to 
despoil the vines. 

The fox drew back from it, exclaiming: 
“Heaven be praised that I looked about 


151 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

instead of leaping through the gap in my 
haste to get some grapes! I hope that my 
cruel master, the wolf, will fall into this pit 
and perish so I shall be freed from my servi- 
tude/’ 

He laughed and shook his head and hur- 
ried ofif to find the wolf. As soon as he caught 
sight of him, he said: “You have often ob- 
served that vineyard which the beasts all 
have such difficulty to get into on account 
of the stout and high wall which surrounds 
it. I have just come from there to tell you 
that there is a breach in the wall through 
which you might easily slip.” 

“You must lose no time in guiding me to 
the spot,” the wolf commanded. 

They trotted away together, and when 
they came to a gap in the wall the wolf 
bolted through. Down he went through the 
covering of the pit, and the fox exclaimed 
joyfully: “Now has fortune favored me! 
My wicked master will trouble me no more.” 


152 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

He crept to the edge of the pit and looked 
down. There was the wolf weeping in sorrow 
for himself; and the fox wept, too. 

The wolf looked up and asked, “Do you 
weep because of your compassion for me.'^’’ 

“No,’’ the fox answered, “I weep for the 
length of your past life and in regret at your 
not having been caught in some trap or pit 
sooner. If you had been snared and killed 
before I met you, I would have had much 
more of ease and comfort.” 

“You evil-minded fox!” the wolf said; 
“go to my mother and tell her what has hap- 
pened to me. Perhaps she can contrive some 
way of getting me out of here.” 

“Not so,” the fox responded. “You have 
been entrapped by the excess of your covet- 
ousness and have fallen into a pit from 
which you will never be saved.” 

“O Fox,” the wolf said, “you have hith- 
erto feared the greatness of my power and 
have always manifested an affection for me 


153 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

and a desire for my friendship. Do not now 
be angry with me for my treatment of you. 
Forgive my offenses and show me kindness. 
Can you not find some means of delivering 
me from destruction.^” 

“You artful, wicked, treacherous wolf!” 
the fox said, “hope not for deliverance. You 
are going to be justly punished for your base 
conduct. As you have sown so shall you 
reap.” 

“O gentlest of the beasts of prey,” the 
wolf resumed, “you surely are more faithful 
than to leave me in this pit. I have always 
found you ready to aid me in the past.” 

“ Stupid enemy ! ” the fox exclaimed, “ how 
are you reduced to humility and submission 
after your tyranny and haughtiness ! I kept 
company with you through fear of your op- 
pression, and flattered you with the hope of 
winning your favor.” 

“Speak not with the tongue of enmity,” 
the wolf entreated. “ Go and get a rope and 


154 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

tie one end to a tree and let the other end 
down to me. Then I will lay hold of it and 
escape from this horrid spot. Do as I bid you 
and I will give you all the treasures that I 
possess.” 

‘‘ No,” the fox said, ^‘you will never escape 
through my help. Reflect on your wicked- 
ness and the cruel way you treated me. 
Know that your soul is about to quit this 
world and go to an evil abode where you 
should have been long before.” 

It was plain to the wolf that the fox had 
no kindly feeling for him, and he said, "T 
have been careless in the past, but if I am 
delivered from this aflaiction, I will surely 
repent of my overbearing conduct to those 
who are weaker than I.” 

He wept and lamented until the heart of 
the fox was moved with tenderness for him. 
Then the fox placed himself at the brink of 
the pit and sat so that his tail hung down in 
the cavity. Immediately the wolf reached 


155 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

up with his front paws, caught hold of the 
fox’s tail, and attempted to pull himself out 
of the pit, but he pulled with such haste and 
violence that the fox lost his footing and 
tumbled down beside him. 

‘‘Now you have become my companion,” 
the wolf said, “and you are in my power. 
Why did you rejoice in my misfortune 
Punishment has quickly overtaken you. I 
will hasten your slaughter that you may 
not behold mine.” 

“Delay your vengeance,” the fox begged, 
“for I have a plan that may get us both out 
of this pit.” 

“O you wily deceiver!” the wolf said; “I 
do not trust you, but tell me your plan.” 

“It is one for which you ought to reward 
me generously,” the fox responded. “When 
I heard your promises, and your confession 
of past misconduct, and your regrets at not 
having repented and done good, I felt sorry 
for you and hung my tail down into the pit. 


156 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

But with your usual habit of haste and vio- 
lence you pulled me in such a way that I 
thought my soul had departed. I slipped 
back over the edge and became your com- 
panion in this place of distruction and death. 
My plan is the only possibility of release.” 

“Well,” the wolf said, “and what is it you 
have to propose?” 

The fox answered: “I would have you 
stand upright and allow me to climb onto 
your shoulders. Then I can reach up to the 
edge of the pit and pull myself out. After- 
ward I will go and bring something that you 
can take hold of and deliver yourself with.” 

• “I put no confidence in your words,” the 
wolf commented, “but it is my only chance 
to get out of here. So I accept your proposal.” 

The wolf raised himself upright, and the 
fox got on his shoulders and sprang up to the 
surface. 

“O my friend!” the wolf called, “do not 
forget me nor delay my deliverance.” 


157 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

The fox uttered a loud laugh and said: 
“You are my enemy. Never again will I put 
myself in your power.” 

“Verily,” the wolf said softly, “you 
foxes are the sweetest of people in tongue 
and the most pleasant in jesting. But not 
every time is appropriate for sport and jok- 
ing.” 

“O idiot!” the fox responded, “you seek 
deliverance in vain. Your fate is sealed.” 

He then went to a mound that overlooked 
the vineyard and called to some men work- 
ing among the vines. They saw him and ran 
toward him and he hastened to escape 
through the gap in the wall. The men came 
to the pit, and there they saw the wolf and 
stopped. Then they picked up heavy stones 
and pelted the captive and killed him. After 
that the fox dwelt in security in the den where 
he and the wolf had lived together, and for 
all that I know, there he dwells still. 



THE FOX WHO BECAME A SHEPHERD 



* • 




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THE FOX WHO BECAME A 
SHEPHERD 


T here was once an old woman who 
went to market and bought some sheep. 
She drove them home and put them in the 
barn and said: "‘Now I must get a shepherd. 
The sheep will have to be turned out to 
graze, and a shepherd must be with them to 
take care of them.’’ 

So early the next day she started out to 
look for a shepherd. On and on she walked 
over the hills until she met a bear. 

“Good-morning,” the bear said; “where 
are you going to-day?” 

“I am looking for some one to watch my 
sheep,” she told him. 

“Hire me,” the bear said. “I’ll watch 
them.” 

“Your voice is rather gruff,” the old 


162 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

woman responded. “Can you talk softly to 
them?” 

“Yes,” the bear answered. “This is the 
way I will call them — Gr-r-r ! Gr-r-r ! 
Gr-r-r!” 

“Oh, no!” the old woman exclaimed, and 
stopped her ears. “Such a call as that would 
scare the wits out of them. They would run 
away.” 

So she left the bear and walked on and on 
until she met a wolf. 

“Good-morning,” the wolf said; “where 
are you going to-day?” 

“I am looking for some one to watch my 
sheep,” she replied. 

“I can watch them,” the wolf told her. 
“Hire me.” 

“But I’m not sure about that voice of 
yours,” she said. “Could you talk softly to 
my sheep?” 

“Yes,” the wolf declared; “I will call them 
like this — Wow ! Wow!” 


163 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

‘‘No, no!” the old woman cried; “I could 
not have a shepherd who called them in that 
rude tone. They would run away.” 

So she left the wolf and walked on and 
on until she met a fox. 

“Good-morning,” the fox said; “where 
are you going to-day.^” 

“I am looking for some one to watch my 
sheep,” she told him. 

“That is just the job for me,” the fox as- 
serted. 

“ Well,” the old woman said, “ you have 
a pleasant voice. I think perhaps you will do, 
but I should want to be very sure that you 
could talk softly to my sheep.” 

“Oh, I would do that!” the fox promised. 
“This is the way I would call them — Ooo! 
Ooo! Ooo!” 

“Very good,” the old woman said. “I 
will hire you.” 

The fox went home with her, and she let 
the sheep out of the barn and told him to 


164 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

take care of them while they were graz- 
ing. 

Night came, and the cunning fox brought 
the sheep safely home, but the next night 
one of them was missing. 

“They are not all here,” the old woman 
said. “ Where is the missing one.^ ” 

“The wolf ate it,” the fox replied. “He 
came out of the woods while I was not look- 
ing and carried it off before I could stop 
him.” 

“You must be more careful after this,” 
the old woman cautioned him. 

But the very next night another sheep 
was gone, and the old Voman asked the fox 
where it was. 

“The bear ate it,” the fox answered. “He 
came from behind a rock while I was not 
looking and carried the sheep off before I 
could stop him.” 

“You must keep on the lookout all the 
time,” the old woman ordered. “Unless you 



THE OLD WOMAN THROWS THE MILK 

AT THE FOX 





165 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

can do better, I shall have to turn you off 
and hire another shepherd.” 

The next morning, soon after the fox had 
driven the sheep out to where they were to 
graze, the old woman filled a bowl with milk 
and said, ‘‘I will carry this to my shepherd.” 

She walked along with her cane in one 
hand and the bowl of milk in the other. 
Presently she climbed a little hill, and there 
was the fox in a hollow before her standing 
over a dead sheep. She looked at his bloody 
jaws and knew it was he who had killed the 
other two sheep as well as that one. 

‘‘You wretch!” the old woman cried. 
“You robber! You villain!” 

She strode toward him threateningly. 
The fox did not like the look of her stout 
cane, and he started to run. Then the old 
woman in her wrath threw the bowl of milk 
at him. It struck the end of his tail, and 
from that day to this the tail of the fox has 
had a white tip. 


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THE FOX, THE WOLF, AND THE 

CHEESE 




THE FOX, THE WOLF, AND THE 
CHEESE 



T the foot of some high mountains 


there was once a small village with a 
road entering it from the east, and this road 
was joined by one from the south on the vil- 
lage borders. One summer night, when a 
round, full moon was shining, a wolf came 
trotting along the eastern road. 

“ I must get a good meal before I go back 
to my den in the moimtains,” he said to him- 
self. “It is nearly a week since I have tasted 
anything but scraps. There are plenty of 
rabbits and hares in the forest, but they are 
so swift I would need to be a greyhound to 
catch them, and I am not as young as I was. 
I wish I could dine on that lady fox I saw a 
fortnight ago. I would have caught and eaten 
her right then, but her husband was near by, 
and I did not want to fight two such active, 


170 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

sharp-toothed creatures. Well, I am going 
to see what I can pick up in this village.’’ 

While the wolf was talking thus to him- 
self, the very fox that he so desired to eat 
was coming along the southern road, and she 
was saying: “The whole of this day I have 
listened to the clucking of those village hens 
till I can keep away no longer. It is the 
sweetest of all music when one is fond of 
fowls and eggs. As sure as I live I will have 
some of those hens this night.” 

Just then she reached a little plot of grass 
where the two roads joined, and she lay 
down there under a tree to rest. Soon after- 
ward the wolf came along and saw her, and 
she turned her head at the sound of his foot- 
falls and saw him. It was too late for her 
to escape, and she suppressed her fear and 
made a pretense at friendliness. 

“Is that you, neighbor she said politely. 
“I hope you are well.” 

“I am as well as any one can be who is 


171 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

very hungry,” the wolf said, and his eyes 
glistened greedily. ‘‘But what is the matter 
with you? A fortnight ago you were as 
plump as heart could wish.” 

“ I have been sick,” the fox explained, “ and 
I am so thin that my very bones rattle.” 

“But you are still good enough for me,” 
the wolf said, and he started toward her with 
open mouth. 

“What are you doing?” the fox cried, 
stepping backward. 

“What am I doing!” the woK retorted. 
“I’m going after my supper, and I shall eat 
you in less time than a rooster takes to 
crow.” 

“Oh, you are always joking!” she re- 
marked anxiously, never removing her eyes 
from the wolf. 

“I am too hungry to waste time joking,” 
the wolf said with a snarl that showed all 
his teeth. “ I want to eat you — not to talk 
to you.” 


172 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

“Remember that I have children at 
home,” the fox said. “Pity a poor mother.” 
And she wiped her eyes with the tip of her 
tail. 

But the wolf showed plainly that her ap- 
peal did not move him, and that his patience 
was about exhausted. So she hastened to 
ask him to grant one last request. 

“What is it.^^” the wolf growled. 

“In this village there is an old well,” the 
fox responded, “and its owner stores cheeses 
in it. Two buckets hang from a pole above it, 
and I come frequently and descend in one 
of the buckets into the well and bring away 
with me enough cheese to feed my children. 
My request is that you let me go and make 
one more good meal ofip the cheese before I 
die.” 

“I’d rather like some cheese myself,” the 
wolf said. “Lead the way and we will go to 
the well.” 

So they went on together, but as they 


173 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

were creeping softly into the village the fox 
made a sudden leap over a wall hoping to 
elude her companion. However, he sprang 
over after her and was instantly at her 
side. “I think I had better curb your de- 
sire to jump by taking a bite out of your 
haunch,” he said with a menacing snap of 
his teeth. 

The fox drew back uneasily. ‘‘ Be careful, 
or I shall scream,” she told him. 

That would rouse the village, and the 
wolf had no desire to have her carry out 
her threat. 

Presently they entered a courtyard, and 
there was the well. The fox looked down into 
it and saw the reflection of the moon, big, 
round, and yellow, in the water at the bot- 
tom. 

‘‘How lucky!” she said to the wolf. “A 
huge cheese the size of a grindstone lies down 
there. Look! look! did you ever see any- 
thing so beautiful? ” 


174 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

“Never,” the wolf answered as he peered 
hungrily into the well. 

“You have only to go down in one of these 
buckets to eat your fill,” the fox informed 
him. “I will wait my turn here.” 

“Oh, that is your game!” the wolf said 
with a grin. “No, you can’t escape me by 
any such trick. You must go down yourself 
and bring the cheese up.” 

There was nothing the fox could do but 
obey, and she climbed into the bucket. Down 
she went to the bottom of the well, and at 
the same time a bucket on the other end of 
the rope went up. The bucket in which the 
fox descended hit the water with a splash, 
but did not fill, for the well was nearly 
dry. 

“The cheese is even larger and richer than 
I thought,” the fox called to the wolf. 

“Then hasten and bring it up,” the wolf 
ordered. 

“But it is so heavy that I can’t,” the fox 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 175 

said. ‘‘You will have to come down, and 
then we will carry it up between us.” 

“And how am I to come down?” the wolf 
asked. 

“ Get into that other bucket which is right 
over your head,” the fox replied. 

So the woK with some difficulty climbed 
into the bucket. He weighed at least four 
times as much as the fox, and he went down 
with a jerk, and his weight sent her to the 
surface with equal rapidity. 

As soon as he understood what had hap- 
pened, he upbraided the fox very angrily. 
She had leaped out of the bucket and was 
now looking down at him, “Good-bye,” she 
said sweetly; “I hope you will enjoy the 
cheese.” 

Then she went off to a neighboring hen- 
house where she secured several fat chickens. 
As she was on her way home she said to her- 
self: “I wonder how Mr. Wolf is getting 
along. I’m afraid I. left him in a bad plight. 


176 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

but I see that the sky has clouded over. If 
there should be a heavy rain, the other 
bucket will fill and sink to the bottom of 
the well and his bucket will go up — at least 
it may.” 


HOW THE CAT OUTWITTED THE FOX 



HOW THE CAT OUTWITTED THE 
FOX 


O NCE upon a time a cat and a rooster 
agreed to live together. So they 
built themselves a hut, and the rooster did 
the housekeeping while the cat skirmished 
around and got food for them. Every day, 
when the cat left the hut, he said to the 
rooster, “Lock the door as soon as I go out 
and don’t let any one in until I come back.” 

One day, while the cat was away hunting, 
a fox came rapping at the door of the hut. 
“Little rooster,” he cried, “let me in!” 

“Pussy told me not to,” the rooster re- 
sponded. 

Again the fox rapped. “Open the door,” 
he shouted. 

“I tell you Pussy ordered me not to,” 
the rooster said. 

But the fox kept asking to be let in, and 


180 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

at last the rooster grew tired of always say- 
ing, ‘‘No,’’ and opened the door. In rushed 
the fox, seized the rooster in his jaws, and 
ran off with him. 

Then the rooster called: — 

“O Pussy, dear, 

The fox is here! 

He holds me tight — ^ 

I’m faint from fright! 

Unless you ’re quick 
My bones he’ll pick!” 

The cat heard the rooster calling, and he 
chased the fox till he overtook him. Then he 
made the fox release the rooster, and the two 
friends went home. On the way Puss gave 
the rooster some good advice, and said in 
conclusion, “Now, keep out of that fox’s 
jaws in future, if you don’t want to be 
killed altogether.” 

Another day, when the cat was out forag- 
ing so that he and the rooster might have 
something to eat, the sly fox again came 


181 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

rapping at the' door. “Dear little rooster,’* 
the fox said, “pray let me in.” 

“No, Mr. Fox,” the rooster responded, 
“Pussy told me to keep the door shut and 
locked.” 

But the fox kept on asking and asking till 
at last the rooster let him in. Then the fox 
rushed at the rooster, seized him by the neck, 
and ran oflF with him. 

At once the rooster cried out: — 

“O Pussy, dear, 

The fox is here ! 

He holds me tight — 

I’m faint from fright! 

Unless you’re quick 
My bones he’ll pick!” 

The rooster’s call was heard by the cat, 
who ran after the fox and compelled him to 
let his captive go and gave him a sound 
drubbing. On the way home the cat scolded 
the rooster roundly and told him never on 
any plea to let the fox in again. “He is no 


182 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

friend of ours/’ the cat declared. ‘‘All he 
wants is to eat you.” 

Not long afterward the fox came once 
more to the hut when the cat was out hunt- 
ing for food. “Dear little rooster,” he said, 
“open the door.” 

“No, Mr. Fox, Pussy told me I wasn’t 
to do so,” was the rooster’s response. 

But the fox begged and begged so persist- 
ently that at last the rooster opened the 
door. Instantly the fox caught the rooster 
by the throat and ran oflf with him, and the 
rooster shouted: — 

“O Pussy, dear. 

The fox is here! 

He holds me tight — 

I ’m faint from fright. 

Unless you ’re quick 
My bones he’ll pick!” 

The cat heard the rooster calling and gave 
chase. He ran and .he ran, but this time 
he could not catch the fox, and he returned 


183 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

home and wept bitterly because now he was 
all alone. At length, however, he took his 
fiddle and a big sack and went to the fox’s 
hole. He sat down near it and began to play 
and sing: — 

“Fiddle-de-dee, 

Fox, listen to me! 

Four daughters have you, 

A little son, too. 

So fiddle-de-dee. 

All come out and see 
Who fiddles here for you.” 

The fox’s oldest daughter said to her 
father: “Daddy, that fiddler plays very 
nicely. I ’m going to see who he is.” 

Out she skipped, but Pussy was watch- 
ing, and the moment she appeared he caught 
her and popped her into his sack. Again he 
played and sang: — 

“Fiddle-de-dee, 

Fox, listen to me! 

Four daughters have you, 

A little son, too. 


184 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

So fiddle-de-dee, 

All come out and see 
Who fiddles here for you.” 

Then the second oldest daughter of the fox 
skipped out. Pussy caught her and popped 
her into his sack, and he continued his fid- 
dling and singing until he had caught all 
four daughters and the little son, too. 

The old fox was now left alone. He waited 
and waited for his children to return, but they 
did not come. At last he said to himself: 
“ I will go out and call them in, for the rooster 
is roasted, the soup is ready, and the por- 
ridge is on the table. It is high time we had 
something to eat.” 

So out he went, and the cat grabbed him 
and shoved him into the sack with his chil- 
dren. Then the cat went down into the fox’s 
hole and drank all the soup and gobbled up 
all the porridge. He looked about for some- 
thing more to eat and saw the roasted rooster 
lying on a platter beside the fire. 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 185 

“Come, shake yourself, rooster,” Puss 
said. 

So the rooster shook himself and got up, 
and he and the cat went home together. They 
carried the sack along, and when winter came 
they had some nice fox skins on their beds 
to keep them warm. None of their wild 
neighbors ever troubled them again, and 
they lived in their little hut in peace and 
plenty for the rest of their days. 



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' I -Am! 






THE FOX, THE BEAll, AND THE POOR 

FARMER 









THE FOX, THE BEAR, AND THE 
POOR FARMER 


O NCE upon a time there was a farmer 
who was so poor that he did not own 
any horses or oxen, and he had to do his 
ploughing with two cows. One morning he 
was ploughing in a field that bordered the 
forest when he heard among the trees a great 
noise of rustling and crackling and of growl- 
ing and squeaking. 

He left his plough in the furrow, crept 
softly into the woods, and peered cau- 
tiously through the thick underbrush. There 
he saw a huge bear wrestling with a little 
rabbit, and the sight of two such ill-matched 
creatures contending seemed to him so funny 
that he laughed loud and long. 

The bear heard his laughter and was very 
angry. He let go his hold on the rabbit and 
strode toward the farmer growling savagely. 


190 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

“What do you mean by laughing so at me? ” 
he asked. 

The poor farmer was now as much fright- 
ened as he had been amused a moment be- 
fore. He could not answer a word. 

“I ’ll teach you not to laugh at me again,” 
the bear snarled. “I’m going to eat you and 
your two cows.” 

The bear was rushing at the farmer with 
wide-open jaws when the trembling man 
found his tongue. “Oh, please, Mr. Bear,” 
he cried in terror, “T could n’t help laughing! 
I really could n’t! I beg you not to eat me. 
I will never, never laugh at you again.” 

“No, you will not laugh at me again,” 
the bear said. “You won’t have the chance. 
I am going to eat you right now.” 

The farmer fell on his knees and with tears 
in his eyes besought the bear to spare him. 
But the more piteously he entreated, the 
more fiercely the beast declared that he 
should be eaten. 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 191 

Finally the farmer said: ‘‘I see I can ex- 
pect no mercy from you, and I will only ask 
the privilege of living until evening. Let me 
have the rest of this day, I beseech you, 
Mr. Bear, so that I can plough and sow this 
field. Then my family will not be without 
bread to eat when winter comes.” 

To this proposal the bear gave a sullen 
consent. Then he shambled off and was soon 
lost to sight in the forest, and the farmer re- 
turned to his ploughing. 

About noon a fox who was passing that 
way stopped to speak to the man. ‘‘ Why are 
you looking so sad?” the fox inquired. 

‘‘I surely have reason enough to be sad,” 
the farmer answered. “This morning I 
heard a great racket near by in the woods, 
and when I went to discover the cause of the 
noise I found a bear wresthng with a rabbit. 
I could not help laughing, and that made the 
bear so angry he was going to eat me at 
once. I begged for mercy, but he would only 


192 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

grant me the rest of the day, and he is coming 
back here this very evening to eat me and 
my two cows.” 

‘‘If that is all you are mourning about, 
you need grieve no longer,” the fox said 
cheerfully. “I can tell you how to save 
your own life and the lives of your two cows 
as well; and you shall have the skin of that 
bear for a warm rug in your house.” 

“But how can such a miracle be done, Mr. 
Fox?” the farmer questioned. 

“ What will you give me if I tell you? ” the 
fox asked. 

At first the farmer did not know what to 
offer, but presently he agreed to give the fox 
nine hens and a rooster. 

“Very well,” the fox said. “Now listen 
and do just as I tell you. Wlien the bear 
returns this evening I will be hiding in the 
bushes. I will make a blowing sound just such 
as the hunters make when they blow their 
horns. The bear will ask you, ‘ WTiat is that? ’ 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 193 

“You must answer, ‘The hunters are 
coming/ 

f- “The bear will be frightened and beg you 
to conceal him. I see you have a big sack 
here in which you brought your seed. Tell 
the bear to crawl into that and not to stir. 
Then I will come out of the bushes and ask, 
‘What is in that sack?’ 

“You will reply, ‘Some sticks of wood.’ 

“I will not believe you and will say, ‘Hit 
the sack with your axe.’ 

“You must then seize your axe and strike 
a mighty blow into the bear’s head that will 
kill him at once.” 

The farmer was pleased with this advice, 
and he agreed to follow it. Everything hap- 
pened as the fox had arranged, and the 
farmer and his cows were saved. 

“Did I not tell you I would rescue you? ” 
the fox said. “Learn from this, my friend, 
that wit is better than strength. I shall come 
to your house to-morrow morning for those 


194 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

nine hens and that rooster. Pick out the 
fattest fowls in your flock, and take care that 
you are at home, or you will be sorry!” 

The farmer loaded the bear on his wagon, 
hitched his cows to it, and drove joyfully 
home. Then he ate a hearty supper, went to 
bed, and slept soundly. 

Very early the next morning, when the 
farmer had scarcely opened his eyes, the 
fox knocked at the door. ‘T want that 
rooster and the nine hens!” he shouted. 

‘‘Right away. Brother Fox, right away,” 
the farmer responded. “Just give me time 
to dress.” 

But it happened that he had two dogs who 
were in the habit of staying in the house at 
night, and they went sniffing at the door 
and got a scent of the fox. Immediately 
they began to bark, “Bow- wow-wow!” 

“Hello, farmer!” the fox cried anxiously, 
“what’s that I hear? You have n’t a hound 
in there, have you?” 





THE BEAR GOES INTO THE FARMER’S 

SACK 




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195 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

‘‘Yes, two of them,” the farmer answered. 
“They sleep under my bed, and now they 
have scented you and are trying to get out. 
I can hardly hold them.” 

“Oh, Mr. Farmer, don’t let them go!” the 
fox exclaimed. “Hang on to them till I get 
away from here. Never mind the nine hens 
and the rooster. You can keep them.” 

When the farmer opened the door the 
fox was disappearing over the ridge of a 
neighboring mountain. The farmer laughed 
heartily, and if he’s still alive he maybe 
laughing yet. 


% 


THE PROUD FOX AND THE YOUNG 
PRAIRIE CHICKEN 



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THE PROUD FOX AND THE 
YOUNG PRAIRIE CHICKEN 


O NE time there was a proud fox who 
was trotting along the road soon after 
sunrise on a summer’s day when he over- 
took a prairie chicken. The prairie chicken 
looked very young and simple, and the fox 
thought that here was a good chance to 
secure a nice tender morsel for his break- 
fast. 

‘‘Good-morning,” he said, and tried to get 
up close to her. 

“Good-morning, yourself,” the prairie 
chicken responded, sidling away from him. 
“How are all your folks.^” the fox asked. 
“Just middling,” the prairie chicken 
answered. “How are yours 
“Oh, fine!” the fox replied. 

“I’m glad to hear that,” 'the prairie 
chicken said. “I don’t know that I’ve 


200 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

ever seen them, or you either, before. What 
have you been doing since planting-time?” 

“Just running around and enjoying my- 
self when I wasn’t learning all that my 
daddy knows,” the fox told her. 

“ Surely, you don’t claim to know all that 
your daddy has been finding out since he 
was turned loose on the world,” the prairie 
chicken said. 

“Yes, I do,” the fox declared. “ If there’s 
a slyer fox in these parts than I am, I agree 
to pin back his ears and swallow him with- 
out sauce or seasoning.” 

“For gracious sake!” the prairie chicken 
exclaimed. 

“I’m telling you the truth,” the fox 
said. “ When it comes to slyness I don’t take 
a back seat for any one. Well, and what 
have you been doing your own self?” 

“Nothing in particular,” the prairie 
chicken answered, and she hung down her 
head and looked as ashamed as if all her tail 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 201 

feathers were pulled out. "‘Ever since I left 
the egg I have been busy running after my 
mammy and getting the bugs and seeds she 
finds. I have n’t had time to learn anything 
except how to hide if I see a man with a 
gun, or a beast with a hungry-looking tooth 
showing.” 

That last remark disturbed the fox some, 
for he had a hungry tooth himself. He hoped 
she had not noticed it, and he hastened to 
turn her thoughts in another direction. 

“So you know just one way to hide.^” he 
said. “ I ’ve got dozens of ways. Good Lord ! 
I could tell you ways of hiding from now till 
sundown. But what is your own little way? ” 

The prairie chicken was quite overcome 
with the learning of the fox, and she replied 
hesitatingly: “I just get underneath the 
dead leaves. Of course a part of me often 
sticks out, but that does n’t matter because 
my feathers and the leaves are exactly the 
same color.” 


202 F airy-T ale F oxes 

‘‘I call that a pretty poor way of hiding,” 
the fox remarked. 

“Yes,” the prairie chicken agreed rather 
testily, “ but it will do me until I can fly. 
Then I won’t need any tricks at all.” 

The fox was starting to make another brag 
when some hounds came into sight. At once 
the prairie chicken caught up a dead leaf and 
rolled with it just as if the wind were blow- 
ing her along. She got out of the path and 
in among the grass and brush. 

So she escaped, but the hounds caught 
the fox, and his brush now hangs above the 
chimney-piece of the man who owned the 
hounds. The brush was all that the hounds 
left of him. 


HOW THE FOX AND THE CRAB RAN 

A RACE 








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HOW THE FOX AND THE CRAB 
RAN A RACE 


O NCE upon a time a fox was walking 
on the seashore and met a crab. 
“Crawling thing,” the fox said, “did you 
ever run in your life?” 

“Yes,” the crab replied, “I very often run 
from the mud here to the grass yonder, and 
from the grass baek to the water.” 

“Oh, fie!” the fox exclaimed, “that is no 
distance to run. How many legs have you? ” 
“Eight,” the crab answered. 

“Why, if I had as many legs as you have,” 
the fox said, “I could run like the wind. You 
are really a very slow, stupid creature. It is 
ridiculous that a person with a whole row of 
legs along each side should run so slowly.” 

“Well,” the crab said, “I challenge you 
to run a race if you are not above matching 
yourself against a dull-witted, sluggish ani- 


206 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

mal like me? But I am much smaller than 
you are. Suppose we go and weigh oiu’selves. 
If you are ten times heavier than I am, of 
course you ought to run more than ten 
times faster to win the race. However, never 
mind about the weight. I know you are 
swift, but that is just because you have such 
a fine tail and hold it so high. If you would 
allow me to fasten something to your tail 
so it would stay down I think you could not 
run any faster than I, even if you do weigh 
so much more.” 

‘‘Have done with your talking,” the fox 
snorted contemptuously. “Do as you like, 
for whether my tail is up or down I have no 
doubt that I shall beat you without any ef- 
fort at all. Your many legs and your stupid 
head do not go very well together. If I had 
your legs and my own sense, not a creature 
on earth could outrim me. As it is there 
are none that can outwit me. Even among 
mankind, such is my reputation that they 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 207 

have a saying, ‘As sly as a fox.’ So do what 
you choose, stupid one.” 

“All I ask,” the crab said, “is to fix your 
beautiful tail so it will stay down. Then I 
shall surely win the race.” 

“Oh, no, you will not,” the fox retorted. 
“You can fasten my tail down, but, just the 
same, I shall prove to your dull brain that 
you never had the least chance to win. How 
do you wish that I should hold my tail for 
you to make sure it will stay down?” 

“Just lower it so I can hang something 
on it,” the crab said. 

“All right,” the fox agreed; “only don’t 
keep me standing here all day.” 

“I shall not be long,” the crab promised; 
“and as soon as I have finished I will call, 
‘Ready!’ Then you are to start.” 

The crab crawled behind the fox, caught 
Reynard’s bushy tail with his pincers and 
shouted, “Ready!” 

Away sped the fox, and he ran and ran 


208 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

till he was tired. But when he stopped, the 
crab, who had all the time clung to his tail, 
was there right beside him. 

“What’s the matter with you?” the crab 
asked. “I thought you said you could run 
ten times faster than I. You are not even 
ahead of me.” 

The fox panted for breath and hung his 
head in shame. 

“I feel as fresh as if I had not run at all,” 
thejcrab declared. “Let’s race back in the 
same way to where we started.” 

“No,” the fox said, “I don’t care to do 
any more racing with eight-legged people.” 
And he went away into the forest hoping he 
never would see the crab again. 


THE FOX WITH A SACKFUL OF TRICKS 


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THE FOX WITH A SACKFUL OF 
TRICKS 


O NCE upon a time it happened that a 
cat was searching for mice in the wood- 
land when she saw a fox coming toward her. 

“I must speak to him,” she said to her- 
self, ‘‘and I had better greet him very po- 
litely. He is clever, and he is experienced in 
all the ways of the world. It will be well to 
keep on as friendly terms as possible with 
him.” 

“Good-morning, dear Mr. Fox,” she said. 
“How do you do, and how are you getting 
along in these hard times .^” 

The fox, full of pride, looked at the cat 
for some time, undecided whether he would 
deign to answer or not. At last he said : “O 
you poor whisker- wiper ! You piebald sim- 
pleton! You starveling mouse-hunter! What 
has put it in your head to ask me how I am 


212 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

getting on? I wonder that you dare to do 

it.” 

“I meant no offense,” the cat responded. 
“You are wise and I am simple. I am slow 
in thought while your wits are keen and 
quick. I only venture to go a short distance 
from home, and so have not your opportuni- 
ties to acquire knowledge, for your travels 
take you far and wide. Let us be friends, 
and I beseech you to share with me some 
of your wisdom.” 

“Pooh, pooh!” the fox sneered; “share 
my wisdom with a foolish cat! However, I 
am not selfish, and I don’t mind telling you 
a thing or two that you perhaps may find of 
value sooner or later.” 

“Thank you,” the cat said; “I shall treas- 
ure whatever you see fit to tell me.” 

“Well, then,” the fox continued, “what 
sort of education have you had? How many 
arts do you understand?” 

“Only one,” the cat replied meekly. 


F airy-T ale F oxes 213 

“And what might that be?” the fox in- 
quired. 

“I am almost ashamed to tell you, it is 
such a poor httle art,” the cat said. 

“I don’t doubt it is poor enough,” the fox 
observed with a scornful sniff. “Neverthe- 
less, I would like to hear what it is.” 

“Why, if you really want to know,” the 
cat said hesitatingly, “the art is one for es- 
caping the dogs. When they run after me 
I can climb a tree and save myself.” 

“Is that all you can do?” the fox said, 
and he snorted contemptuously. “As for 
me, I am master of a hundred arts, and I 
have a sackful of cunning tricks also. Truly, 
I pity you. Come with me and I will teach 
you how to escape the dogs without any la- 
borious tree-climbing.” 

Just then a huntsman came riding along 
accompanied by four hounds. The cat was 
too frightened to wait for the fox to give her 
wise advice, and she ran nimbly up a tree. 


214 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

Nor did she stop until she had perched her- 
self on the topmost bough where she was 
completely hidden by the twigs and leaves. 

The fox remained on the ground down 
below, and she called to him: “Mr. Fox, 
open your sackful of tricks! Open it quick 
or those fierce hounds will catch you.’^ 

But while she was speaking the hounds 
seized poor Reynard, and they held him 
tight. “O Mr. Fox,” the cat said, “you are 
caught in spite of your hundred arts and 
sackful of tricks, while I with my one art 
am safe. Had you been able to climb up 
here your life would not be forfeited.” 


REYNARD AND HIS ADVENTURES 


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REYNARD AND HIS ADVENTURES 


O NCE upon a time a fox lay peeping 
out of his hole on a winter’s morning. 
There was a road in sight not far away, and 
by and by he saw a man coming along on 
it, driving to market with a load of fish. 

‘‘That reminds me I have n’t had break- 
fast,” the fox said. “ Some of the fish on 
that sledge would just suit me. I think I 
can play a trick that will make the man give 
me a chance to help myself to them.” 

Then he ran down a convenient hollow 
that allowed him to get into the road some 
distance ahead of the sledge without being 
seen, and there he stretched himself motion- 
less by the roadside. Pretty soon the sledge 
reached him, and the driver pulled up 
sharply. “Aha, a dead fox!” he said, and he 
jumped out and tossed Reynard onto his 
load. 


218 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

The man got back on his seat and drove 
on. And soon the fox cautiously wriggled to 
the rear end of the sledge, threw off two nice 
large fish, and jumped off himself. Then he 
took the fish in his mouth and trotted away 
to the forest. There he met a bear who 
stopped and asked, “Where did you get 
those fish, Mr. Fox.^’’ 

“Oh! not far off,’’ the fox answered. “You 
know the stream in the glen where the elves 
dwell. I just stuck my tail through a hole 
in the ice there, and these fish caught on 
and I pulled them out.” 

The bear in those days had as long 
and as fine a tail as the fox, and he said, 
“Well, if those fish would hang on to your 
tail, I suppose some would hang on to 
mine.” 

“Yes, certainly, grandfather,” the fox 
responded. “The fish have n’t much to eat 
these days. Dangle your tail down in the 
water and they will surely hang on. But 


219 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

you would have to sit patiently a long time. 
Could you do that?” 

“Don’t talk nonsense,” the bear snarled. 
“Of course I could.” 

“Remember you will spoil everything if 
you are in a hurry,” the fox said as the bear 
shambled away toward the glen of the elves. 

Bruin found a hole in the ice and thrust 
his tail deep in the chilly water. The weather 
was cold, and ice was forming rapidly. The 
sun set and it grew dark, and the bear said 
to himself: “I have had enough of this sort 
of thing. Fish or no fish, I am going home.” 

But to his dismay he found that the hole 
in the ice had frozen over, and that his tail 
was held as if in a vise. To add to his alarm 
the elves just then discovered him and began 
shouting to each other: “Here is a bear in 
our glen! Drive him away! Drive him 
away!” 

Instantly he had swarms of the little people 
all about him, and each one was armed with 


220 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

a tiny bow and arrows and a spear hardly 
big enough for a baby. Their arrows and 
spears, though small, could sting, as the 
bear well knew from past experience, and 
in his fright he gave a mighty tug that 
broke his tail short off. Then away he scam- 
pered out of the glen as fast as he could go. 
His fine bushy tail was gone, and ever since 
that time all the bears have had short, 
stumpy tails. 

The bear wanted to punish the fox, and 
he went in search of him. Reynard under- 
stood perfectly what he must expect, and 
he said to himself, “Unless I keep out of that 
fellow’s way I shall lose something more 
than my tail.” 

Then he began speaking to his feet and 
other parts of himself. He would ask a ques- 
tion and pretend that the part addressed 
answered, though of course it was he who 
did all the talking. The conversation was 
like this: — 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 221 

“What would you do, my feet, if the bear 
was seeking my life?” 

‘‘We would run so fast that he could not 
catch you.” 

“What would you do, my ears, if the 
bear was seeking my life?” 

“ We would listen so keenly that we should 
hear all his plans.” 

“What would you do, my nose, if the bear 
was seeking my life?” 

“I would smell so sharply that I could 
warn you of his coming while he was still 
afar ofif.” 

“What would you do, my tail, if the bear 
was seeking my life?” 

“I would steer you so straight that you 
would soon get beyond his reach.” 

Then the fox listened intently and sniflfed 
the air suspiciously. “I must be ofif — dan- 
ger is near,” he said. 

So he ran and ran until he left the moun- 
tains with their ice and snow behind. At 


222 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

last he came to a man mending a boat beside 
a river. 

“Lend me your boat that I may cross 
over to the other side,” the fox requested. 

“Don’t bother me,” the man said gruffly. 
“I’m busy.” 

“But I need your boat to cross over this 
river,” the fox said as he sat on his hind legs 
and looked up into the man’s face. 

“Stop your silly chatter!” the man or- 
dered. “Stop it, or I will give you a bath 
in the water!” 

“Oh, I wish I had a boat, I wish I had a 
boat!” the fox cried. 

Then the man jumped up, seized the fox 
by the tail, and threw him far out into the 
stream. It happened that there was a little 
island near where the fox fell, and he 
scrambled out on that. After shaking the 
water from his fur, he sat down, and called, 
“Hasten, hasten, O fishes, and carry me to 
the other side!” 


223 


Fairy-Tale Foxes 

Immediately the fishes left the pools 
where they had been lurking and hurried 
to see who could get to the island first. 

“I have won,” the pike shouted. Then he 
said to the fox, “Jump on my back and I 
will carry you to the other shore.” 

“No, I thank you,” the fox responded. 
“Your back is too weak. I should break it.” 

The eel wriggled to the front and said, 
“Try mine.” 

“You are too slippery,” the fox objected. 
“I would slide off and be drowned.” 

“You won’t slide off my back,” the perch 
said, coming forward. 

“Good gracious, no!” the fox exclaimed, 
“not while you have such a spiny fin right in 
the middle of it; but I would be very un- 
comfortable.” 

At this moment a fine salmon swam up 
and said, “Well, you can have no fault to 
find with me.” 

“You are the person I want,” the fox 


224 Fairy-Tale Foxes 

said. ‘‘Come close to the shore so I can get 
on your back without wetting my feet.’’ 

The salmon swam as near the island 
as he could, and the fox stepped carefully 
on his back and was carried swiftly to the 
opposite bank. I think the fox must still 
be on that side of the river, for I have never 
heard of his returning. 




CAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTS 
U . S . A 









000545 * 4 ‘^43 




